Pakistan - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 23 - February 16th

[hawkeye]

hat-tip bluebonnet at TR

Avian influenza outbreak feared

ASIF CHAUDHRY
LAHORE - Ministry of Health has directed the Health Secretaries, EDOs and head of all the public hospitals to remain on high alert and make emergency arrangements for any epidemic of Avian Influenza virus.
The Ministry warned that a rapid outbreak of Avian Influenza was expected in the country after it lashed the neigbouring country India where thousands of birds were culled.
In a letter issued by the Ministry of Health, while addressing the Secretary Health of all the provinces, DG Health, EDOs, Principals of all the teaching hospitals, MSs of District Headquarters & Tehsil Headquarters hospitals and other health officials, it advised high alert to face any emergency situation.
The Ministry said that the letter should be treated as the most urgent message, directing the concerned officials to take emergent measures without fail to provide emergency treatment to the suspected patients of Avian Influenza virus in the public hospitals which could transmit from infected birds to the human beings.
A Health Department source said that the Ministry of Health Islamabad issued these directions after some more suspected cases of Influenza virus were reported in human beings.
Another main reason behind giving high alert message to the health institutes was the outbreak of bird flu in India where in recent days culling of more than 50,000 infected birds had been conducted in a few days.
As both the countries Pakistan and India have joint borders, there is serious threat of migration of Avian Influenza virus in Pakistan widely from India in coming days.
The cases of Avian Influenza in eight persons in NWFP also panicked the Health Department as well as the people associated with poultry business.
The people associated with poultry business were directly under serious threat of Avian Influenza virus which could transmit to them from the infected birds rapidly.
These people were strictly directed to follow the internationally recommended standards while dealing with the chicken or birds.
They were asked to use eye goggles, masks, gloves, gown, shoes of full length, and adopt other precautionary measures.
A senior official in Health Department said the H5N1 Avian Influenza is more dangerous than dengue fever as its mortality rate is much higher.
Ironically, he said, no proper vaccination of human Avian Influenza or other medicines was available in the public hospital emergency departments and markets as well. Some local medical companies have claimed of having products regarding human Avian Influenza ,however, these products are too costly.
Taking to this scribe the DMS Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Dr. Masood Akhtar Sheikh said that Influenza virus spreads rapidly in winter season.
About symptoms of the Avian Influenza in humans, he said that flu followed by high body temperature are the common symptoms of this disease ,however, it is very difficult to diagnose the bird flu in human beings as symptoms of both the common flu and the bird flu in the human beings are almost same.
He said that it is dire need of the time to provide security and safety to the workers looking after the chicken or birds in the poultry farms as they could fall prey to the Avian Influenza more easily than the other people.
A senior doctor in Sir Ganga Ram said following the instructions of Ministry of Health, the hospital has installed extra beds in the isolated ward of the hospital besides other necessary arrangements.
He however, disclosed that the hospital has no vaccination or other medicines to provide immediate relief to the patients suffering from Avian Influenza.
They would be provided treatment with the medicines of common use.
The hospitals can only administer proper care to the Avian Influenza suspected patients instead of influenza vaccination or related other medicines, he added.

[HenryN]

Cold weather: Pneumonia, chest infection cases on the rise in Islamabad
* Low attendance in schools g Children complain of sore throat, flu
* Traders say 30 percent slump in sales
* Mercury likely to drop further: Met Office

By Saadia Khalid

ISLAMABAD: The prevailing cold and dry weather has caused a significant increase in the number of pneumonia and chest infection cases, especially among children.

After receiving two spells of rain this month, the capital witnessed a remarkable decrease in temperature, as the minimum temperature recorded on Tuesday night was -3 degree Celsius.

A doctor at a leading hospital said the decrease in temperature and dryness were causing many viral diseases including chest infection, flu, cardiovascular and respiratory problems and pneumonia among children. “Since last week, the number of pneumonia and chest infection patients, particularly children, has increased manifold,” he said.

He said children were more vulnerable to diseases as they were careless. “Parents should cover children properly with warm clothes to save them from cold-treated diseases,” said the doctor.

The excessive use of heaters not only increases the risk of catching cold but also causes allergies, skin dryness and respiratory problems, he added. “People should prefer to cover themselves properly with warm clothes rather than using heaters,” he said, adding that a bowl of water should be kept near the heater to maintain the required ratio of moisture in the room.

He said the dry weather was also increasing the number of pollen allergy patients and the use of masks could be affective in this respect. “Drinking at least 8-10 glasses of water could maintain the required moisture in the skin and could lessen the effect of allergy,” he said.

There have been low attendances in schools due to cold weather. “Most of the children are complaining of sore throat and flu,” said a schoolteacher.

The weather has also affected the business activities in the city, as people prefer to stay at homes instead of going to markets for shopping.

Ashraf Ghazi, Jinnah Super trader, told Daily Times that there had been 30 percent decrease in his sale, as people were not visiting the market due to the biting cold.

“During daytime people remain busy in their offices or other workplaces and shop in evening but decrease in temperature in the evening forces them to stay indoors,” he added. These days, there is only sale of warm clothes sweaters, caps, ear warmers, socks and gloves, said Mian Hammad, a shopkeeper of Karachi Company.

“Shopkeepers selling durables and other day-to-day items are facing huge loss nowadays,” he added.

According to the Met Office, the dry weather is likely to continue next week while the night temperatures are expected to drop further. The minimum temperature recorded on Wednesday was -2 degrees Celsius.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...-1-2008_pg11_5

[Niko]

KARACHI: Outbreak of bird flu feared in Gadap


By Mukhtar Alam
KARACHI, Jan 30: Following the large-scale deaths of birds at a local farm, poultry and health officials have suspected that avian influenza (bird flu) has crept into Karachi.

A senior poultry officer of the Sindh government said that he had been informed about an extraordinary number of mortalities of birds in a farm located on the right side of the Super Highway near the Toll Plaza, lending credence to reports that the much-dreaded bird flu had hit Karachi.

Dr Aslam Jalali, the provincial surveillance officer on avian influenza, said on Wednesday night that a surveillance team which, according to him, had already been working in the area, had collected samples from 10 birds of a poultry farm on Tuesday for confirmation of H5N1 bird flu virus and a laboratory report pertaining to the samples was due to be released from Islamabad on Thursday evening.

Though he maintained that the spread of the disease was confined to only one farm, the relevant quarters claimed that the flu and mortality problem existed in some nearby farms as well, including those maintained by the Rangers.

It was further learnt that some workers of the farm in question were reportedly also suffering from flu. But a senior official in the Sindh health department said that he had no knowledge about any avian influenza case in humans in recent days.

The city government’s focal person on avian influenza, Dr Aslam Pervez, said that he had been told by some officials that samples had been sent to the national reference laboratory on bird flu and any on-the-ground precautionary measures against the spread of bird flu virus in humans could be taken only after getting confirmation from Islamabad.

Sources in the poultry industry said on Wednesday that birds started dying at a farm in Gadap Town about four days ago. Earlier, the number of deaths was low and it was thought that the deaths were due to cold weather. But the situation became alarming when the birds’ mortalities started numbering in the thousands per day.

It was further said that the dead birds were thrown away in landfills and open pits without observing the precautionary scientific process, which increased the chances of the spread of infections, whether it was bird flu or something else, through wild birds and other animals.

A livestock department official said that if lab tests confirmed that it was indeed avian influenza, then the farms involved would be asked through the CDGK poultry officer to ensure immediate culling of birds and their scientific disposal, while moves would be taken for further inspection of poultry farms in the vicinity.

One young man, identifying himself as the owner of the farm in question, said that he was a medical student and knew the bird flu phenomenon and that was why he had been keeping the poultry officers of the Sindh government informed about the disease and deaths.

‘12,000 birds lost’

“During the last four or five days I have lost almost all of my 12,000 broiler birds of four weeks, who were kept in two sheds in Gadap Town. I had ensured all the routine vaccination to the birds, except the avian influenza (AI) vaccines,” he said, adding that the government officials had told him that there was no need to vaccinate the broiler birds against AI.

Another source said that the magnitude of the deaths of birds and the symptoms of the disease gave the impression that the development was very similar to avian influenza, which had already affected some other poultry forms in Gadap and Bin Qasim towns as well as farms in some other parts of the province.

The national poultry disease reference laboratory last confirmed the presence of the AI virus in Karachi in the first week of April, 2007. Prior to that confirmation from Islamabad, between 4,000 and 7,000 birds had died of the viral infection while about 28,000 birds were killed at three Gadap Town farms, as maintained then by the farms and provincial livestock department.

http://www.dawn.com/2008/01/31/local7.htm

[HenryN]

Commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01...1_Karachi.html

[HenryN]

Bird Flu test results expected today
By Shahzad Shah Jillani

KARACHI: The results for the H5N1 Avian influenza or Bird Flu are expected from the Islamabad laboratories today and it is difficult to say with certainty before that if the disease has in fact broken out in Gadap, experts pointed out Thursday.

“We are waiting for the reports to come, only after that can we officially confirm whether it is bird flu or something else,” said Dr (Capt) Abdul Majid, who is the Special Secretary to the Sindh Public Health Department. The Sindh Livestock department was responsible for sending the tests off but all officials concerned have been ordered to monitor the situation. The WHO is also on the situation and is likely to come on the record if there has been an outbreak indeed.

The fears of bird flu were renewed after at least 400 birds were reported dead, albeit no one was willing to confirm the numbers, last week. This was about the same time that 5,000 birds were culled in India, said Dr Habib Soomro of the Pakistan Medical Association. “Because we share a border, there is a serious threat the virus will migrate,” he cautioned. According to him, the government panicked after reports of deaths in the NWFP of people associated with the poultry business. Unique Poultry Farm in Gadap Town reported more than 80% of its birds dead at a 5,500-strong farm.

“These people were strictly directed to follow the internationally recommended standards while dealing with chickens or birds,” Soomro said. “They were asked to use goggles, masks, gloves, gowns, full-length shoes, and adopt other precautionary measures but it was only talk rather than action.”

Despite the fears, Aga Khan University’s Dr Afia Zaffar of the department of Pathology and Microbiology cautioned that it was too early to say anything. “After the report comes, we could investigate further and explore the cause,” she added.

This much has been confirmed, that there were deaths. A Gadap-based Mehran Poultry Farm worker, who wished to remain unnamed, said that there had been deaths. “For the last two days the chickens were not as active and did not eat,” he said. “A few of them were found dead the next morning.”

While the word of the poultry farmers should be treated with a pinch of salt as they stand to lose out the most financially, a spokesman for the association, A. Maroof Siddiqui, did mention that there could be other factors. How could anyone confirm H5N1 without the test results, he said. “Blood samples were sent to the National Reference Laboratory in Islamabad and the report is expected to be issued Friday,” he said, adding that there could be other reasons why the chickens died.

“It could be some other disease such as New Castle Disease, often called Rani Khait,” he said. Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is a contagious and fatal viral disease affecting most species of birds. Clinical signs are extremely variable depending on the strain of virus, species and age of bird, concurrent disease, and preexisting immunity. NDV is so virulent that many birds die without showing any clinical signs. A death rate of almost 100 percent can occur in unvaccinated poultry flocks. NDV can infect and cause death even in vaccinated poultry.

Or the chickens could have died because of a feed shortage. For example, feed has become expensive, particularly grains such as rice and wheat, due to shortages in the open market. “The canola bean and canola oil are also short but despite this we have not increased the rates of chicken in the market,” Siddiqui explained a little defensively while linking the prices to Bird Flu.

“The change in weather could also be a reason.” The normal body temperature of a chicken is 106 degrees Fahrenheit and they are usually kept under 110 degrees. Sometimes due to the negligence of the staff, who may leave the cover unrolled, the temperature drops down to 50 degrees, which could lead to their deaths. The broiler or laying chicken usually survives for four days if they are infected, said Siddiqui.

Bird flu usually takes from 3 to 7 days for all both types of chickens.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...2-2008_pg12_12

[HenryN]

Doctors’ team find no bird flu patient in Gadap

By By our correspondent 2/1/2008

The Sindh Health Department on Thursday while taking note of reports about outbreak of bird flu in a poultry farm of the Gadap Town and reported deaths of hundreds of chickens from a mysterious disease sent a team of doctors to ascertain as to whether any human being is affected. “The team did not find any patient there,” said deputy secretary health, Dr Shakil Mullick. He said the health department would take steps accordingly as it receives a sample report from the health ministry in Islamabad. Dr Aslam Jalali, the provincial surveillance officer on bird flu, said that on Thursday he talked with the health ministry officials who told him that they were still assessing the samples sent to them by the Sindh Health Department. He said they were taking samples of poultry farms in each district of Sindh since 2004 when the bird flu had hit the Sindh province. He said they have launched campaigns for informing the poultry workers about taking preventive measures such as wearing mask and burying dead chickens. “I can not say that our directions have been implemented 100 per cent in the Gadap Town,” Dr Jalali said. He said a mysterious disease has hit one of the poultry farms in the town where 3,000 chickens out of 6,000 had reportedly died so far. He said they have also taken samples from other poultry farms. He said if the ministry confirmed existence of bird flu in the Gadap Town, then the district government would promptly “dispose of chickens scientifically.” http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=94082

[Niko]

KARACHI: Bird flu fears hit another poultry farm in Gadap


By Mukhtar Alam
KARACHI, Jan 31: While poultry farmers and officials concerned in the Sindh and Karachi city governments are waiting for test reports pertaining to the recent large-scale deaths of birds, a surveillance team on bird flu collected samples from another farm in Gadap Town on Thursday.

Sources in the poultry industry claimed that samples were drawn on Thursday from a poultry farm maintained by the Rangers in Gadap Town so that they could be sent to the National Reference Laboratory For Avian Influenza (bird flu), Islamabad.

In the meantime, some poultry producers and marketers continued making threatening calls to the family whose farm has been suspected of being infected with avian influenza (H5N1) virus for responding to media queries.

“The callers said that as we have ‘leaked’ the news to the media about the extraordinary number of deaths of commercial broiler birds and now we have to face the consequences,” said one of the family members. “Would it be viable, from the public health point of view, to suppress the deaths of thousands of birds in four days or so, while the incidence of bird flu cases are frequent now in other countries of the region?” wondered a member of the family that owned the affected poultry farm owner in Gadap.

Contrary to the initial calculations that the Islamabad-based bird flu lab would communicate the test results of the 10 samples taken from birds of the suspected poultry farm by Thursday night, nothing was received in Karachi by the time this report was filed.

Dr Aslam Jalali, the provincial surveillance officer on avian influenza, told Dawn on Thursday that he was continuously in contact with the lab authorities and any results on the samples that were despatched to Islamabad on Wednesday were likely to reach Karachi some time on Friday.

However, when contacted, an official concerned from the Islamabad lab said though the samples had been received and tests were in progress, he could not say exactly when the process would be completed. “It may take two, five or even seven days to diagnose the disease that hit the birds in the Gadap farm,” he said, requesting anonymity.

In regard to the bird flocks reportedly maintained by the Rangers, Dr Jalali said that the Rangers had contacted the livestock department for the purpose of sampling, following the deaths of a good number of birds in their farms, while the samples would be sent to Islamabad on Friday.

A source said that about one eighth of the Rangers’ flock had succumbed to some disease during the last one week and the breaking news about the large-scale deaths of birds in their neighbouring farms in Gadap compelled them to take the authorities concerned into confidence. The Rangers kept fowls numbering around 5,000, out of which 600-700 died recently.

Birds to be buried

The CDGK’s DO Poultry Asadullah Shah Bukhari said that in line with verbal instructions of the Sindh government’s director (poultry), his team had collected and bagged around 2,000 dead birds from the poultry farm from where bird samples were drawn a couple of days ago.

“We intend to dump or bury the bagged birds in an old, dry well present on the premises of the poultry farm late on Thursday night, while the culling of live birds would be executed only when a written letter, confirming the outbreak of bird flu in the farm, from the director is received by the district government,” he said.

It was further learnt that a team of students from a public sector university also visited the site of the private poultry farm in question on Thursday and drew samples for research purposes.

Independent sources said the government should move for an immediate survey of the poultry estate at Gadap to overcome the situation and ascertain the real cause of the deaths of birds in various farms there.

Former PMA general secretary Karachi, Dr Qaiser Sajjad, who is also the chairman of the medical committee of the Arts Council of Pakistan, observed that the authorities were failing to address the situation properly. He also pointed out that despite repeated demands from professionals and pledges by the authorities, a city like Karachi was short of any purposeful virology lab to detect, among other diseases, bird flu both in humans and birds.

In the meantime, the Sindh health department has once again reminded the executive district officers (health) in the province to remain vigilant about any case of human influenza in their respective districts.

Special Secretary, Public Health, Dr Abdul Majid said that EDOs had been asked to coordinate with other members of the joint committee on bird flu and send their surveillance report on a weekly basis.The department had also asked the EDOs to keep under observation the workers of suspected poultry farms and report to the department as well.

The Sindh government’s Director Poultry, Dr Ali Akbar Soomro, said that some more samples would be taken from birds belonging to private farms in Gadap on Friday. “It is understood that some virus had crept into the farms in Gadap Town. But its strength (H5, H7 or H9) is yet to be known,” he added.In the case of the farm in question, he said, he had information that 4,000 of a total of 6,000 birds had died due to the unnamed disease, while chances of culling of the remaining birds at the farm also existed, provided the reference lab for avian influenza conveys a positive report.

http://www.dawn.com/2008/02/01/local4.htm

[HenryN]

Originally Posted by Niko

KARACHI: Bird flu fears hit another poultry farm in Gadap




The Sindh government’s Director Poultry, Dr Ali Akbar Soomro, said that some more samples would be taken from birds belonging to private farms in Gadap on Friday. “It is understood that some virus had crept into the farms in Gadap Town. But its strength (H5, H7 or H9) is yet to be known,” he added.In the case of the farm in question, he said, he had information that 4,000 of a total of 6,000 birds had died due to the unnamed disease, while chances of culling of the remaining birds at the farm also existed, provided the reference lab for avian influenza conveys a positive report.

http://www.dawn.com/2008/02/01/local4.htm

The above quote indocates bird flu has been identified (and with 4,000 of 6,000 dead and spreading it is almost certainly H5 or H7 and in view of other recent outbreaks, including northern Pakistan, it is H5N1).

[HenryN]

Commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02...hi_Likely.html

[Dutchy]

H5N1 confirmed

Pakistan culls thousands sick birds as H5N1 hits southern port city

Posted : Fri, 01 Feb 2008

Author : DPA

Islamabad - Pakistani authorities on Friday culled thousands of birds to control an outbreak of avian flu at poultry farms in the southern port city of Karachi, an official said. "We have culled 5,500 birds after laboratory tests confirmed the presence of H5N1 virus at a farm in Guddap district," said Ali Akbar, the director of Poultry Research Institute Sindh.

Animal health workers had tightened surveillance at hundreds of other farms that supply poultry products to the city's 15 million people, Ali said, adding the bird flu was limited to only one farm.

But some media reports recently suggested that the virus had affected several poultry farms. Tens of thousands of birds have died in the last three days and the dead foul are being illegally sold in the city, the daily Express said Thursday.

No human infections have yet been reported in Karachi but health officials were conducting tests of the poultry workers.

Pakistan's poultry population has seen multiple outbreaks of H5N1, the strain of avian influenza that can be deadly in humans, since 2006. The first human case was reported in 2007 when nine people in the North-West Frontier Province, six of them blood relatives, were confirmed to have contracted the virus in November.

However, the World Health Organization (WHO) later ruled out human-to-human transmission after retests of the patients' blood samples at its laboratory in Geneva.

Bird flu has killed at least 210 people worldwide since 2003. Most human cases of avian influenza are the result of contact with sick birds, but experts fear the virus might mutate into a form that spreads easily among humans, sparking a pandemic that could kill millions of people.


http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/s...hern-port.html

[HenryN]

Commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02...Confirmed.html

[HenryN]

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02..._Pandemic.html

[tropical]

No threat of Bird flu in Islamabad: ICT administration
Associated Press of Pakistan
http://www.birdflubreakingnews.com/t...5%26Itemid%3D2

No threat of Bird flu in Islamabad: ICT administration

ISLAMABAD, Feb 1 (APP): There is no immediate threat of bird flu in the federal Capital and regular surveillance of poultry farms is being conducted in Islamabad. The sampling of poultry is being conducted on regular basis within the jurisdiction of Islamabad and vigilance at poultry farms and weekly bazaars has been enhanced as part of pre-cautionary measures. This was informed at a high level meeting on Friday under the chairmanship of Chief Commissioner, Islamabad Hamid Ali Khan. The meeting was held to review the preventive measures being undertaken at poultry farms to ensure safety of poultry flock. The meeting was attended by the representatives of Poultry Research Institute Rawalpindi, representatives of Poultry Associations, Director Agriculture, Industries and Labour Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Tariq Javed Malik and Assistant Director Livestock ICT Dr. Amjad. The meeting was informed that foolproof preventive measures have been taken at poultry farms to ensure safety of poultry. As part of pre-cautionary measures, vigilance has been enhanced at the poultry farms and weekly bazaars. Regular sampling is underway and there is no evidence of H5 virus anywhere in Islamabad. It was decided in the meeting that bio-security measures at the poultry farms will be further tightened. All poultry farms in ICT will be registered and poultry workers were directed to use protective clothing during work at poultry farms. Rapid response of ICT teams at field levels will be further activated. Vaccination of poultry will be conducted regularly and CDA sanitation wing will be further activated. Seminars will be organized at Rural Development Centre to create awareness about the preventive measures among poultry workers and citizens.

[HenryN]

Pakistan-Bird Flu
Authorities in the Pakistani southern port city of Karachi on Friday cited the cases of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in a poultry farm.
The virus was detected in a chicken farm in two farms in Gadap locality which has now been sealed off, officials said.
In view of the outbreak of the disease around 5,000 chickens were killed and dumped as a safety measure.
More infected chickens will be slaughtered for which steps were in progress.
Director Poultry Research Sindh province Dr Ali Akbar, while talking to media, has confirmed the spread of bird flu and said that preventive measures were necessary to check it.
He said that the affected poultry farm was sprayed and the poultry workers directed to wear hand gloves during their duties at the farms.
Officials said that the workers at the affected farm will be quarantined for a week to check any spread of the disease.
Officials from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Islamabad has declared alert across the country to check if there is any indication of bird flu in any other part.
Officials in Karachi sealed one kilometer area around the affected farm and banned any movement of chickens and the people out of the area.
The H5N1 virus does not at present pose a large-scale threat to humans, as it cannot pass easily from one person to another.
However, experts fear the virus could mutate to gain this ability, and in its new form trigger a flu pandemic, potentially putting millions of human lives at risk.
In Pakistan eight cases of bird flu among people were confirmed in December, the first such cases in the country, according to the World Health Organization.
The cases of H5N1 avian influenza were confirmed in Pakistan's remote North-West Frontier province.
One patient died, six recovered and one remained under medical supervision in the cities of Abbotabad and Mansehra.

News sent: 20:04 Friday February 01, 2008 Print

http://www.injuryboard.com/national-...googleid=29378

[HenryN]

Bird flu confirmed in Karachi

KARACHI: In the aftermath of mysterious deaths of thousands of chicken since last 3 days, which were conformed as occurred due to suspected deadly viral of Bird flu and Rani Khet, both the affected poultry farms and nearby environs have been completely sealed.

The poultry farms located in the Gaddap Town located on edge of Super Highway, witnessed mysterious en masse deaths of chicken since Wednesday, and which prompted the surveillance teams of health officials and Sindh Poultry Research Institute (SPRI) to survey the affected poultry farms, and procure samples of dead chicken forwarded to (NDL) National Defense Laboratory, Islamabad.
In its finalized reports on Friday, the NDL confirmed the presence of deadly H5N1 and NDA (Rani Khet) viruses in these dead chicken, which were immediately buried in deep pits, packed in plastic bags dipped with chemicals.
The director poultry research production institute Sindh, Dr Akbar Ali Soomro has declared the first ever presence of Bird flu in Sindh region, while (it is pertinent to note that) earlier Bird Flu had been declared as prevalent in Islamabad, Abbotabad and Mansehra regions.
Culling of remaining chicken is being carried out, while a sharp vigil is being carried out in City poultry farms for early detection of the disease, with chemical sprays also being carried out. A detailed orientation of poultry farm workers is also being carried out and directives have been given to conduct sprays and other precautionary measures upto 7 kilometers of the infected areas.

http://www.onlinenews.com.pk/details.php?id=123987

[Dutchy]

18 teams formed to cope with Bird Flu in Pakistan

'Pakistan Times' Federal Bureau

ISLAMABAD: Federal Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Livestock Friday high alerted all the concerned departments after confirmation of Bird Flu’s presence in Karachi while a radius of one kilometer area around the affected poultry farm in the city has been quarantined.

Commissioner Animal Husbandry, MINFAL, R.H. Usmani said that 18 teams have been formed across the country to cope with threat of Bird Flu. They have been provided special dress, glasses, gloves and spray, he added.

He said one kilometer area surrounding the affected poultry farm in Gadap area has been sealed and the transportation in and out of the farm has been prohibited.

Samples from one more poultry farm in Gadap have been arrived and their report will come out by tomorrow.

Commissioner Animal Husbandry said all precautionary measures have been taken after consulting the matter with Islamabad’s Administration.

He said birds that fly into the country from Russia every year in February carry along with them the Bird Flu virus.

An earlier report from Karachi had said that the Sindh government has confirmed the presence of bird flu virus in poultry farms located in Karachi's Gadap area.

Talking to Geo News, Sindh government's Poultry Research department director Dr.Ali Akbar today announced that the deadly H5N-1 strain of bird flu has been identified in Gadap and 5,000 chickens have already been culled.

Earlier, the department had sent samples from the poultry farms to the National research lab in Islamabad to confirm the presence of the highly contagious avian influenza.

The emergency has been declared in the hospitals across the province and isolation wards have been set up hospitals at Tehsil and District level in the wake of the confirmation of the bird flu in a Gadap Town poultry farm.

The City District Government Karachi Friday took action on a poultry farm suspected to have been infected by bird flu and buried more than 2,000 birds in a 100- feet deep trench while the farm situated in Gadap Town has been sealed by the authorities.

However, hundreds of birds were found dead in Thatta and Badin districts. The chickens were killed in poultry farms suspected to have been infected by H5N1 bird flu virus.

And, a report from Peshawar says that Department of Livestock has been issued special instructions for keeping a strict watch on Bird Flu in NWFP.

Secreatary Agriculture Arbab Shahrukh said it was also decided to shift the poultry farms away from densely populated areas of Abbotabad and Mansehra.

Blood samples of chicken are being gathered from poultry farms across the province, he said, adding teams at district level had also been set up to take stock of the situation at poultry farms in each district.

Arbab Shahrukh told the shifting of poultry farms from populated locations will be undertaken after ensuring all necessary facilities at the new locations.

Instructions are also being given to the people associated with poultry industry that all precautionary measures be taken while killing the infected birds. He said one person died in December last year by contracting fatal H5N1 virus.●

http://www.pakistantimes.net/2008/02/02/top5.htm

[HenryN]

Bird flu strikes Karachi farms

IRFAN MALIK
KARACHI - Authorities on Friday confirmed the deadly bird flu virus at two poultry farms situated at Gadap town of provincial capital.
“Around 5,500 chickens have died at the poultry farms due to the deadly virus, while around 500 chickens have been culled by authorities concerned,” Karachi Wholesale Poultry Association Secretary-General Kamal Akhtar Siddiqui said.
The H5N1 strain of avian influenza had been found in samples taken from birds that died in the farm, Siddiqui added. “After the detection of bird flu virus, teams culled the remaining chickens the poultry farms whereas neither a single case of presence of deadly virus was detected at several other poultry farms located at Gadap town nor at any other poultry farm across the city,” Siddiqui said, adding that not even a single case has reported yet about the jumping of deadly virus into humans. Moreover, the Sindh government sealed all farms within a radius of one kilometre to prevent further spread of the disease.
Caretaker Chief Minister Sindh Abdul Qadir Halpota issued directives to the city government and live stock department to take all precautionary measures to control the outbreak of bird flu virus across the Sindh, a press note issued by CM’s Secretariat, Sindh said.
The CM in his statement also emphasized on the authorities to provide guidelines to people in order to avert the further spread of the virus across the province. However, the authorities concerned have taken several measures including providing gloves to workers and conducting regular health check-ups for them.
“More or less 0.4 million chickens are needed to fulfill the per day meat demand of the city, in accordance with the total population of the city the chicken meat demand stands at two percent as compared to 10 percent demand of the other populated cities of the world that reflects considerable decline in the demand due to the first outbreak of bird flu virus in 2004 in the city, since ever no investment has came to the poultry industry,” Siddiqui pointed out. He said that poultry industry across the country had incurred losses worth of billions after the first outbreak of the deadly virus. Many investors had ejected their investment due to the escalating fears emerged after the detection of bird flu.
Sources in poultry industry said that due to the massive coverage from both electronic and print media about the presence and danger of flu virus the poultry industry damaged immensely and investors had transferred their investment in other sectors.
Alarmed by the resurfacing of bird flu virus, the federal health managers have put all the relevant departments across the country on high alert and constituted 18 teams of experts to counter the deadly ailment.
“We have constituted 18 fully equipped teams with special dresses, glasses, gloves and protecting sprays. These teams will visit the poultry farms to spray, collect blood samples and dispose off the dead chicks,” Commissioner Animal Husbandry R H Usmani told The Nation. He informed that the security measures have been taken in Islamabad after the long negotiations with the administration. The farms have been sealed off and officials began culling around 10,000 chickens, RH Usmani added.
Following confirmation of bird flu virus in Karachi, emergency has been declared and isolation wards have been set up in all government hospitals in Sindh.
Sindh DG Health Dr Abdul Majeed said that a 4-member committee had been made on district level to examine all poultry farms in the province and steps have been taken at all government hospitals to ensure precautionary measures and in time diagnose of bird flu virus. “Our medical teams have put them under observation,” Abdul Majeed said. “We may quarantine them if it is necessary,” he added. Health authorities said they were monitoring at least 15 poultry workers from the two farms.
Meanwhile, Hundreds of chickens have died in several poultry farms in Thatha and Badin. The samples taken from the deceased chickens have been sent to Islamabad for medical examine.
Pakistan recorded its first death from bird flu in December when a man died in NWFP. A brother of the victim also died before being tested for the virus. Both had worked on a cull of infected poultry. Another five people were infected but recovered. Worldwide the H5N1 virus has killed more than 200 people.

http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/feb-2008/2/index1.php

[HenryN]

Bird flu strikes Karachi

Saturday February 02, 2008 (0943 PST)

KARACHI: Laboratory tests on Friday confirmed the existence of H5N1 strain of bird flu in one poultry farm in Karachi’s Gadap Town, prompting the health authorities to conduct medical examination of poultry workers. However, the virus was not found in humans, health officials said.


At the same time, doctors said that there was little chance that the disease could be passed on to common man though poultry farm workers, should they fail to take preventive measures, were more at risk.
“Laboratory tests were positive and we immediately culled the 1,000 remaining birds,” said deputy secretary health, Sindh, Dr Shakil Mullick. Samples from one poultry farm located off the Super Highway were taken on Tuesday and sent to the Health Ministry in Islamabad to detect the virus.
Special secretary health, Dr Capt Abdul Majid, said that they had screened workers of around 16 poultry farms but no human infection case was found. However, he said as a precautionary measure, three workers of a poultry farm were put under observation at an isolation ward of the Civil Hospital, Karachi.
Dr Aslam Jalali, the provincial official on bird flu, said the virus was found on one farm only, which had been sealed after completing a joint operation, conducted by teams of the provincial Health Department, the Livestock Department, the City Govt and the Poultry Research Institute, respectively.
He said that 80 per cent birds of the farm had already died and they culled the remaining 20 per cent birds on scientific basis. He admitted that they faced some “problems” when the teams tried to examine other poultry farms as precautionary step but later these were resolved.
Director Poultry Production and Provincial Coordinator, Dr Akbar Ali Soomro, said on phone that the report of the National Reference Laboratory of the Ministry of Health, which was received here on Friday at 11:00 am, confirmed that broiler chicken of one of the farms of the Gadap Town had H5N1 and the Newcastle disease.
Newcastle is also a highly contagious, generalised virus disease of domestic poultry and wild birds characterised by gastrointestinal, respiratory and nervous signs. He said so far this was the only farm where the deadly disease had been detected and they had ordered all poultry farms to ensure vaccines for chicken.
The caretaker Chief Minister of Sindh, Justice (retd) Abdul Qadir Halepota, instructed the City Govt and the Livestock and Health departments to take immediate steps to control bird flu in the province on a priority basis and cull all infected chicken. He said the people should also be informed about the precautionary measures in order to prevent the spread of the virus.
A City government spokesman said on the instructions of the Nazim, the local administration culled over 2,000 chickens and buried them 100-feet deep in earth. He said a special team, led by EDO Agriculture, was sent to the infected poultry farm and it took all precautionary steps after examining the farm. The spokesman said the city government’s team conducted a raid on the farm near the Super Highway and culled chickens while spray was also conducted there. Spray was also conducted in the surrounding areas spread over two kilometres in order to prevent the spread of the virus. Similarly, spray was also carried out on other poultry farms.
The City Nazim also instructed the EDO Health to conduct complete checking of all poultry farms in the metropolis. EDO Agriculture Mohan Lal said a survey of all poultry farms was being conducted and immediate action would be taken if bird flu was detected anywhere. He said the City government had not received the supply of any infected chicken in the city areas while the checking system was being further upgraded.
Meanwhile, Central Secretary General of Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), Dr Habib Rehman Soomro, alleged that poultry farms association was hiding facts from the people, which would be harmful for health.
He claimed that the poultry farm owners were not following the prescribed measures like providing masks and gloves to their workers who were at high risk of infection. He said on Friday, poultry farm owners had “deliberately” increased the price of chicken in order to hoodwink the citizens as in the past, the prices had gone down when the virus hit the city. He asked the officials to take all possible measures as human infection would be extremely dangerous.
Member Executive Committee, Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) Dr Qaisar Sajjad said there was no harm in the use of chicken as part of diet. He said research had proven that the virus was killed at 80 degrees Centigrade. “Generally, we cook food at 100 degrees Centigrade and there is no chance that the virus can survive at that temperature. However, the people should be careful while eating barbeque and only fully-cooked barbeque should be eaten,” he said. He said there was no confirmation that eggs might spread the influenza. However, the use of half-fry and half-boiled eggs should be stopped as a precautionary measure.
He said the people must see the bird first before slaughtering. He said only healthy chicken should be purchased and customers should make sure that the ones picked by them were slaughtered before their eyes.
Dr Sajjad said workers of poultry farms had more chances of catching the disease. He said workers should use gloves, glasses and aprons before entering their workplaces. The convener of Press and Public Relations Committee, Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA), Maroof Siddiqui, said the affected farm had 6,000 broiler chickens. He said this was for the first time that bird flu had been detected in broiler chicken. Earlier, this was found in layer chicken only.
He said the detection of chicken epidemic might be the result of vaccination failure in the affected farm. He said weather also mattered in this regard as last year the deadly disease had killed many birds in February and March.
The Vice President of Karachi Wholesale Poultry Association, Mushtaque Awan, said almost all the farmers had been vaccinating their flocks since the outbreak of influenza in Pakistan. Last year, 47,500 layer chickens were culled in the Gadap Town due to detection of deadly H5N1 influenza at some poultry farms. In 2003, the outbreak of bird flu had killed 3 million layer chickens at different poultry farms in Karachi. The average life of a broiler chicken is eight weeks and that of a layer chicken is one and a half years.

http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?196861

[HenryN]

Commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02...Isolation.html

[HenryN]

Bird flu experts due in Karachi



By Our Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD, Feb 1: The epidemiological response team of the National Institute of Health (NIH) will arrive in Karachi on Saturday to assess the situation in Sindh after the National Agriculture Research Centre (NARC) confirmed the presence of the H5N1 strain of bird flu virus in a poultry farm in the provincial capital.

“The National Reference Laboratory (animal testing) at NARC has confirmed the presence of the virus in one of the farms, while the report of the second farm is expected tomorrow,” an official said, adding that the NIH team was being sent to Karachi for assessing the situation and providing technical assistance to the provincial government.

The outbreak, which has occurred after a long break in Sindh, is the first of this year.

Last year was worse with 79 Avian flu outbreaks and some human casualties.

Most of the incidents had occurred in northern parts of the country in poultry farms in and around Mansehra, Abbotabad and Murree.

Severe cold in the areas is considered to be the main reason behind the relief in the region.

This year, however, experts fear that the infection may return to the region by end of the current month or early next month.

A senior NIH official said the Karachi outbreak reflected the vulnerability of poultry farms and the backyard poultry.

He called for strengthening bio-safety and bio-security to check the spread of the virus.

http://www.dawn.com/2008/02/02/nat17.htm

[HenryN]

KARACHI: Govt scramble to check spread of bird flu virus



By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Feb 1: The poultry and health officials of the provincial and city governments are set to intensify the surveillance of birds and workers at farms across the city in an attempt to stop the spread of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus following its detection at a Gadap poultry farm.

A source close to the bird flu monitoring teams of the government said that the detection of the disease, which is also considered dangerous to humans, had alarmed the authorities.

They wanted foolproof surveillance of bird flu in both birds and humans and arrangements were being made in such a way that the support of the area police could also be sought if the farmers tried to close their premises to the surveillance staff, the source added.

In the meantime, three young men who had been working at a poultry farm (Uni poultry farm) where birds died during the last few days or were culled on Friday in the wake of their contact with the virus were shifted to the Civil Hospital Karachi on Friday evening.

The focal person on bird flu, a deputy secretary in the Sindh health department, Dr Shakeel Mullick, told Dawn that the persons, named Mohammad Aslam, Ghulam Mustafa and Allah Dino, had been admitted to the isolation ward of the CHK for observation purposes.

“As per initial examinations, none of the three had shown any symptoms of bird flu infection, but they would be watched for four to five days to avert any danger to them,” he said.

Dr Khalil Ansari, the Gadap Town Health Officer, said that poultry workers at a farm maintained by the Rangers near the Uni farm were physically examined by doctors on Friday as a precautionary measure.

“Following reports that birds at the Uni and Rangers’ farms had been suspected of being exposed to some deadly virus, we have started monitoring the poultry workers in the Gadap area as well, and at least 50 people were examined at various farms on Thursday,” he informed.

The Director Poultry of the Sindh Government, Dr Ali Akbar Soomro, said that since it had been confirmed that a deadly virus existed in the environment, the relevant staff of the city district government had been advised to carry out massive anti-virus procedures, including serological tests and the spray of medicines so that the further spread of viral Newcastle and bird flu diseases could be checked.

Regarding the samples drawn from the Rangers’ farm, Dr Soomro said that they had been sent to the National Reference Laboratory for Avian Influenza, which normally took 72 hours for the confirmation of bird flu in the samples taken from birds.

Till Friday morning, about 1,100 birds had succumbed to some unknown diseases at the farm in question.

‘Immunity decreases in winter’

A private veterinary doctor working in the Gadap area said on Friday that immunity against diseases normally decreased in birds in the winter and that was why he had advised the caretakers of the Rangers’ farm to administer some supplementary medicines to enhance the immunity status of the birds in question. “If things do not improve in the next 24 hours, then some antibiotic preparations would have to be administered to the remaining flock,” he remarked.

The CDGK’s DO Poultry, Dr Asadullah Shah Bukhari, said that visits to other farms along the National Highway, Super Highway, Hub River Road, Gadap and Surjani towns and other parts of the city would be intensified from Saturday.

“To ensure a massive spray of medicines against bird diseases at farms, we are also approaching the high-ups to provide the necessary resources and machines to the staff concerned,” he added.

As for the Uni farm issue, he said that the owners had strictly been told not to carry out any new activity or poultry production for the time being at the site. “We carried out a spray on Friday and will visit again in the coming weeks to ensure a complete disinfection of the place,” he added.The owner of Uni poultry farm told Dawn in the evening that his premises had been sealed by the government officials after completing the culling operation. He said he had to suffer a loss of about 12,000 birds that existed in two flocks due to the bird flu virus.

http://www.dawn.com/2008/02/02/local1.htm

[HenryN]

Karachi farm hit by bird flu



By Mukhtar Alam
KARACHI, Feb 1: Hundreds of birds at a poultry farm in the Gadap area of the city were culled on Friday following confirmation of reports of an outbreak of bird flu.

Personnel of the poultry and livestock and agriculture departments of the provincial and city governments killed the birds and buried them in a dry well in a farm on the instructions of Sindh Poultry Director Dr Ali Akbar Soomro.

Dr Soomro told mediapersons in the afternoon that the National Reference Laboratory (animal testing) of Islamabad had informed him that the Newcastle disease virus and bird flu virus of H5N1 strain had been found in the samples of birds taken on Jan 28.

He said 1,000-1,200 birds had been culled by suffocating them in large plastic bags containing chemical. A case for compensation for the loss incurred by the owners of the farm would be prepared soon, he added.

Dr Soomro said that the culling was the first of its kind in the province over the past three years. The owners claimed that over 10,000 birds had died and the number increased to 12,000 after Friday’s culling. However, livestock officials said 4,000-4,500 birds had died over the past week.

Dr Soomro said that it had been established that bird flu virus prevailed in the environment of Gadap and warned that there were chances of a further spread if adequate precautionary measures were not taken by field officers, surveillance teams and poultry farmers.

Three workers who handled the birds before and after the culling were sent to the isolation ward of the Civil Hospital Karachi for monitoring.

One of the workers, Mohammad Aslam, said he had been working at the farm for about three months and had complaints of pain without flu.

Dr Aslam Pervez, the focal person of the district government on bird flu in humans, said Tamiflu pills were available for people suffering from the disease.

“We plan to set up isolation wards in some hospitals as soon as necessary equipment are received from Islamabad and personnel trained to handle affected people,” he added.

The H5N1 virus has been circulating in Asia since 1997 and it first appeared in Pakistan around two years ago. According to experts, in its present form bird flu is transmitted only through people having contact with infected birds. At least 208 people died from the virus in 2007, including Pakistan’s first case confirmed by health officials.

http://www.dawn.com/2008/02/02/top7.htm

[HenryN]

Commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02...tion_More.html

[Treyfish]

Thousands poultry found dead in Karachi farm
KARACHI: At least 2500 birds found dead in a poultry farm at Super High near Karachi on Saturday. According to sources, 2500 chickens found dead at a farm, which is owned by a law enforcement agency. The staff of health department and City government reached at the poultry farm whereas live stock officials started burying the dead birds. However, bird flu virus has not been confirmed in the dead chickens but it is feared that the chickens might be affected by bird flu. http://www.pakistanlink.com/Headlines/Feb08/02/06.htm

[HenryN]

Bird flu strikes Karachi farms

IRFAN MALIK
KARACHI - Authorities on Friday confirmed the deadly bird flu virus at two poultry farms situated at Gadap town of provincial capital.
“Around 5,500 chickens have died at the poultry farms due to the deadly virus, while around 500 chickens have been culled by authorities concerned,” Karachi Wholesale Poultry Association Secretary-General Kamal Akhtar Siddiqui said.
The H5N1 strain of avian influenza had been found in samples taken from birds that died in the farm, Siddiqui added. “After the detection of bird flu virus, teams culled the remaining chickens the poultry farms whereas neither a single case of presence of deadly virus was detected at several other poultry farms located at Gadap town nor at any other poultry farm across the city,” Siddiqui said, adding that not even a single case has reported yet about the jumping of deadly virus into humans. Moreover, the Sindh government sealed all farms within a radius of one kilometre to prevent further spread of the disease.
Caretaker Chief Minister Sindh Abdul Qadir Halpota issued directives to the city government and live stock department to take all precautionary measures to control the outbreak of bird flu virus across the Sindh, a press note issued by CM’s Secretariat, Sindh said.
The CM in his statement also emphasized on the authorities to provide guidelines to people in order to avert the further spread of the virus across the province. However, the authorities concerned have taken several measures including providing gloves to workers and conducting regular health check-ups for them.
“More or less 0.4 million chickens are needed to fulfill the per day meat demand of the city, in accordance with the total population of the city the chicken meat demand stands at two percent as compared to 10 percent demand of the other populated cities of the world that reflects considerable decline in the demand due to the first outbreak of bird flu virus in 2004 in the city, since ever no investment has came to the poultry industry,” Siddiqui pointed out. He said that poultry industry across the country had incurred losses worth of billions after the first outbreak of the deadly virus. Many investors had ejected their investment due to the escalating fears emerged after the detection of bird flu.
Sources in poultry industry said that due to the massive coverage from both electronic and print media about the presence and danger of flu virus the poultry industry damaged immensely and investors had transferred their investment in other sectors.
Alarmed by the resurfacing of bird flu virus, the federal health managers have put all the relevant departments across the country on high alert and constituted 18 teams of experts to counter the deadly ailment.
“We have constituted 18 fully equipped teams with special dresses, glasses, gloves and protecting sprays. These teams will visit the poultry farms to spray, collect blood samples and dispose off the dead chicks,” Commissioner Animal Husbandry R H Usmani told The Nation. He informed that the security measures have been taken in Islamabad after the long negotiations with the administration. The farms have been sealed off and officials began culling around 10,000 chickens, RH Usmani added.
Following confirmation of bird flu virus in Karachi, emergency has been declared and isolation wards have been set up in all government hospitals in Sindh.
Sindh DG Health Dr Abdul Majeed said that a 4-member committee had been made on district level to examine all poultry farms in the province and steps have been taken at all government hospitals to ensure precautionary measures and in time diagnose of bird flu virus. “Our medical teams have put them under observation,” Abdul Majeed said. “We may quarantine them if it is necessary,” he added. Health authorities said they were monitoring at least 15 poultry workers from the two farms.
Meanwhile, Hundreds of chickens have died in several poultry farms in Thatha and Badin. The samples taken from the deceased chickens have been sent to Islamabad for medical examine.
Pakistan recorded its first death from bird flu in December when a man died in NWFP. A brother of the victim also died before being tested for the virus. Both had worked on a cull of infected poultry. Another five people were infected but recovered. Worldwide the H5N1 virus has killed more than 200 people.

http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/feb-2008/2/index1.php

[sharon sanders]

Bird flu confirmed in Karachi

KARACHI: In the aftermath of mysterious deaths of thousands of chicken since last 3 days, which were conformed as occurred due to suspected deadly viral of Bird flu and Rani Khet, both the affected poultry farms and nearby environs have been completely sealed.
The poultry farms located in the Gaddap Town located on edge of Super Highway, witnessed mysterious en masse deaths of chicken since Wednesday, and which prompted the surveillance teams of health officials and Sindh Poultry Research Institute (SPRI) to survey the affected poultry farms, and procure samples of dead chicken forwarded to (NDL) National Defense Laboratory, Islamabad.
In its finalized reports on Friday, the NDL confirmed the presence of deadly H5N1 and NDA (Rani Khet) viruses in these dead chicken, which were immediately buried in deep pits, packed in plastic bags dipped with chemicals.
The director poultry research production institute Sindh, Dr Akbar Ali Soomro has declared the first ever presence of Bird flu in Sindh region, while (it is pertinent to note that) earlier Bird Flu had been declared as prevalent in Islamabad, Abbotabad and Mansehra regions.
Culling of remaining chicken is being carried out, while a sharp vigil is being carried out in City poultry farms for early detection of the disease, with chemical sprays also being carried out.
A detailed orientation of poultry farm workers is also being carried out and directives have been given to conduct sprays and other precautionary measures upto 7 kilometers of the infected areas.



http://www.onlinenews.com.pk/details.php?id=123987

[HenryN]

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02...ion_Wards.html

[HenryN]

High alert in Pakistan after bird flu Confirmation
'Pakistan Times' Wire Service
ISLAMABAD: High alert has been declared in the whole country after bird flu confirmation in Karachi.

According to health ministry, all the hospitals have been issued the directives in this connection and isolation wards have been set up at hospitals.

The ministry sources said a programme worth Rs1.18 billion in this connection has been initiated.

The sources said that no bird flu virus is found in the flesh of poultry, adding that culling the birds is incumbent upon the district government and the district government should manage the affairs including sanitation and spray.

The sources said there are at least 25800 poultry farms and no license is needed in this regard; however, any person can open a poultry farmafter getting an NOC from ministry of livestock.

The registration of poultry farms across the country has been started.

A report from Quetta says that no case of bird flue came to the fore any where in Blaochistan, but the government as precautionary measure has asked all the district hospitals to remain high alert.

Caretaker provincial Health Minister, Ata Gul said that the doctors at Civil Sandeman and Bolan Medical Complex here have been put on high alert, while check-points have been set up at the entry/exit roads of the city, where chickens and poultry products coming from Sindh and Punjab are being allowed entry here after checking and proper vaccination.

Caretaker health minister told that his department was in league with the livestock department and effective joint safety measures were being taken against the bird flu.

http://www.pakistantimes.net/2008/02/03/top11.htm

[HenryN]

No case of bird flu at Quetta: HM
	Updated at: 1435 PST, Saturday, February 02, 2008
	QUETTA: No case of bird flue came to the fore any where in Blaochistan, but the government as precautionary measure has asked all the district hospitals to remain high alert. Talking to Geo News here, caretaker provincial Health Minister, Ata Gul told this. He said that the doctors at Civil Sandeman and Bolan Medical Complex here have been put on high alert, while check-points have been set up at the entry/exit roads of the city, where chickens and poultry products coming from Sindh and Punjab are being allowed entry here after checking and proper vaccination. Caretaker health minister told that his department was in league with the livestock department and effective joint safety measures were being taken against the bird flu.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=36522

[HenryN]

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02...tan_Alert.html