Bird flu scare in Bangladesh #H5N1 #BIRDFLU

Ban on import of chicks, eggs urged

Bird flu scare in Bangladesh

. Mithun Kamal
The spread of Avian Influenza (AI) virus in Indian states bordering Bangladesh has created panic among the local poultry farmers, hatcheries and breeders farms as infected chicks and eggs are being smuggled into .
In such situation, leaders of Bangladesh Poultry Industry Coordination Committee (BPICC) and individual farmers have urged the government to tighten the boarder to save country's poultry industry from this deadly virus.
Poultry industry in Bangladesh suffered losses around Tk 6,000 crore when the deadly AI virus hit the industry from 2007 to January 2012. "Even in the last year the industry incurred losses around Tk 1000 crore," said industry insiders.
If the virus hit the growing industry once again crossing the border, it would cause a massive damage to it, said industry leaders while talking to The New Nation on Friday.
Moshiur Rahman, Convenor of the Bangladesh Poultry Industry Coordination Committee (BPICC) and President of the Breeders Association of Bangladesh (BAB), said poultry farms in the six Indian states-- Tripura, Meghalaya, Maharastra, Bihar, Orissa
and Jharkhand-- have seriously been infected with H5H1 virus in January this year and Assam was infected in July and West Bengal in August last year.
"Thousands of poultry birds were culled and eggs destroyed in those Indian states," he said adding that selling of infected poultry birds at a cheaper price in the infected areas.
He urged the government to form a cell and certification unit at every land port to stop intrusion of AI virus as well as any other new deadly disease.
Shamsul Arefin Khalid (Anjon), Vice-President of BAB and Director of Nourish Poultry and Hatchery Ltd said FAO has identified six countries including the neighbouring India, where AI virus exists and will require another decade or more to be free from this deadly disease.
"To protect the industry from infection, the government should ban import of chicks, eggs and poultry birds at least for the next ten years," he suggested.
Fazle Rahim Khan Shahriar, Managing Director of Aftab Bahumukhi Farms Ltd. said according to the international law, importing of one-day chick, birds and eggs from any infected country is strictly prohibited. "But the Commerce Ministry has issued granted permissions to import those items in violation of the international warning," he added.
He requested the government to cancel all permissions earlier granteed to import one-day chick, chicken, eggs and hatching eggs from India.
Saidur Rahman Babu, General Secretary of BAB said the production of commercial layer and broiler has decreased drastically. The production of commercial broiler chicken decreased in 50 lakh per week from 92 lakh before while Layer chicken production decreased in 3.0 lakh from 9.0 lakh.
Dr Munzur Murshid Khan, Secretary General of Bangladesh Poultry Industry Association (BPIA) said a huge number of infected birds and eggs were smuggled to Bangladesh from neighboring country and caused spread of bird flu in the country.
The poultry leaders also made an appeal to the government for allowing import of bird flu vaccine to save the poultry industry from AI virus.

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