18 January, 2010 - People entering Phuentsholing town are being searched for chickens or eggs, after Bhutan declared an indefinite ban on import of poultry and its products from India, starting yesterday morning, in response to an outbreak of avian influenza (H5N1) or bird flu in the neighbouring Indian state of West Bengal.
The ban comes almost six months after the last ban was lifted in July 2009. Mobile users were also notified about the bird flu with a joint sms from agriculture and health ministry on Saturday evening, which asked for cooperation to prevent the flu from entering the country.
Indian media reported that the possibility of the birds being affected by bird flu, emerged when hundreds of them died in Murshidabad district of West Bengal in the past few days. Tests on the samples of the dead birds at the animal disease laboratory (ADL) in Bhopal confirmed bird flu.
“We’ve revoked all import permits of poultry and poultry products, including the ones from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh as they come through West Bengal,” said the Bhutan agriculture food and regulatory authority (BAFRA) officer in-charge in the border town Ugyen Dorji. “Eggs and frozen chicken are mostly imported from the two southern Indian states.”
The rapid response team, assisted by livestock officials, have been alerted at all entry points to step up surveillance and the livestock team will study and create awareness in Pasakha and other villages along the Bhutan-India border, said BAFRA officials.
“After the first outbreak, if there’s no fresh outbreak, it takes about three months to declare when the ban could be lifted,” Ugyen Dorji said.
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