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ANIMAL HUSBANDRY IN THE MEDIA
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Mattan
May 29: Avian Influenza, another name for bird flu is fundamentally a
disease of birds caused by a variety of strains of influenza viruses
that have adapted to a specific host, particularly in water fowl. The
H5N1 strain of influenza - often referred to as bird flu - is first
known to have jumped from chickens to humans in 1997. Since 2004 it has
ripped through poultry and wild bird populations across Eurasia, and
had a 53% mortality rate in the first 147 people it is known to have
infected. Health authorities fear this strain, or its descendent, could
cause a lethal new flu pandemic in people with the potential to kill
billions after the virus responsible for causing the disease jumped the
specie-barrier to infect humans. Experts fear the nature of the disease
could be more lethal than ten hydrogen bombs after causing a pandemic.
Of the 382 human cases reported so far the world over, 241 have been
devoured by the deadly disease. The worrying factor that has sounded
alarm bells in the international organizations, such as, World Health
Organisation (WHO), Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and Office
International des Épizooties (OIE)—a world organisation for animal
health-- is the continuous mutations the virus has been undergoing
through antigenic shift and drift. “Given the potential of the disease
to affect several species of animals and man, it has become necessary
for the veterinary and medical scientists to keep a constant vigil over
the disease to prevent a pandemic,” said Ravi Thusoo, Secretary to
Government, Animal Husbandry Department. Thusoo was addressing the
valedictory function of the World Bank sponsored advanced training for
veterinary workforce of district Islamabad in the control and
containment of Avian Influenza. “The dreaded disease is to be tackled
like a disaster and therefore we need to be prepared to meet any
eventuality.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Dr Bhupinder Singh Director,
Animal Husbandry, Kashmir formally launched the training programme in
which 68 vets and Para vets participated. Master trainers of the
programme included Dr A A Baba, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of
Kashmir Livestock Development Board (KLDB), Dr A M Reshi, Chief Animal
Husbandry Officer (CAHO), Islamabad and Dr F A Kaloo, Dy Director,
Animal Husbandry.
The participants were imparted trainings in
surveillance operations, stamping out of the disease in infected flocks
including organized farms and backyard poultry system, disinfection of
farm houses, feed godowns, marketplaces etc. They were also trained in
mass vaccination operations in surveillance zones in the eventualities
like outbreak of the disease. Emphasis was laid on the collection of
sera samples, morbid materials, donning of special dresses in culling
operations, disposing off infected materials, disinfection of
equipments etc
“We have taken several steps like developing an
early warning mechanism through continuous surveillance and monitoring
of resident bird populations, imported poultry and vigil on wetlands
visited by migratory birds,” Singh said. “Against a target of 2000
samples per year, the department has sent 3979 samples to the Regional
Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (RDDL), Jallandhar and the High Security
Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL), Bhopal during the year 2007-08.
These also included samples from the migratory birds.”
He said in
order to generate awareness regarding Bird Flu, 64 awareness camps were
organised at the district and block levels during the past two years.
Of these, 22 such camps were held at block level since the outbreak of
bird flu in West Bengal. Around 70 vets were trained as master trainers
to further train the veterinary work force, he informed.
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