Vector map not drawn a year on

Pranesh Sarkar
KOLKATA, Dec. 24: With no end in sight to the Bird Flu rage, a lethargic state government is yet to prepare an action plan to arrest the spread of the disease in districts other than Malda and Bankura.
The state administration's tardy handling of the situation is not limited to this year. Since last year, when the worst ever Bird Flu outbreak in the country was reported from the state, the state government's preparedness in controlling the disease has been wanting.
A senior animal resources development (ARD) department official said the epidemiological survey that was taken up after the previous outbreak was yet to be complete. Besides the deadly virus's spatial mapping, the survey results are expected to provide vital information on how and where it.
The survey was taken up in June this year, but work on it was discontinued in July after experts met with an accident in Cooch Behar. The two experts are still recovering from their injuries. Meanwhile, the virus struck the state a second time ~ in Malda.
Senior ARD officials confided to The Statesman that the survey results would have helped specialists to prepare for future attacks. "Usually, the virus follows the same route. Therefore, if the path was known, it would have been easier for the experts to check the spread of the virus when it hit this time around," sources said.
In this context, sources said that the survey was supposed to have been carried out by the veterinary epidemiology department of the West Bengal University of Animal and Fisheries Sciences. However, the survey could not be advanced any further when the two experts of the department met with the accident.
Senior ARD officials nevertheless criticised the manner in which state government authorities have since handled the situation. "The government should have taken up the issue with utmost sincerity and engaged other experts on an emergency basis," an official commented.
When contacted, the departmental head at the West Bengal University of Animal and Fisheries Sciences, Mr Ujjal Biswas, said the survey would be completed as soon as the two experts rejoined duties.