Rapid Response Team (RRT) killing chickens infected with bird flu virus
With the avian flu spreading to nine districts in Assam, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday warned that the disease could become a major disaster for human beings if poultry are not allowed to be culled.
The minister said, "active surveillance of the population was on in the nine affected districts."
As many as 82 cases with people having upper respiratory infection (URI) were reported since the outbreak of the disease early this month, but were not stated be be bird flu cases. URI is one of the symptoms of the disease," the minister said.
"Though they were ruled out to be suffering from the disease, the symptoms are alarming and all the people with URI were being scrutinised," he added.
"People are taking the disease very casually. Chicken and ducks are kept away from culling without realising the implications of the seriousness of the disease," Sarma told reporters.
"We will not be able to handle if the disease spreads to humans from the birds on a full-fledged level. The way the disease is spreading, it will be a major disaster than bomb blasts or floods," Sarma asserted.
"The human disaster will be immense. The health department is ready to handle 100 to 200 cases. The department is very worried about human transmission of the disease as it is not 100 per cent equipped to handle a largescale outbreak as there are no isolation facilities here," he said.
"Therefore, people and poultry farmers, who may also be affected, should cooperate to prevent spread of the disease by allowing the culling of their birds," he appealed.
Though Tamiflu was the prescribed medicine for bird flu treatment in humans, Sarma said, only 40 per cent to 50 per cent people responded to the treatment leaving the rest to be victims of the fatal disease.
The affected districts are Kamrup (Rural), Kamrup (Metro), including Guwahati, Barpeta, Nalbari, Chirang, Baksa, Dibrugarh, Goalpara and Bongaigaon.
The disease, starting from Hajo revenue circle in Kamrup (rural) district, about 20 km from here, on December 2, had spread to Guwahati in Kamrup (Metro) district, Nalbari, Barpeta, Chirang, Baksa, Bongaigaon and Goalpara districts in Lower Assam spreading to Dibrugarh district in Upper Assam.
The Department of Animal Husbandry had notified avian influenza in the districts where sale, purchase and movement of poultry were banned, the minister said.
During active surveillance of the population in the affected areas, Sarma said, the cases of URI with fever were reported, but no cases of influenza such as illness with history of contact with infected or dead poultry have been detected.
Regarding URI cases, he said, in worst affected Kamrup (rural) district 4 cases were reported in Hajo block, 14 cases in Rampur block, 2 in Azara/Rani block, besides 60 in Barpeta district and two in Nalbari district.
"Therefore, people and poultry farmers, who may also be affected, should cooperate to prevent spread of the disease by allowing the culling of their birds," he appealed.
hat-tip Niman
No comments:
Post a Comment