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FAO pledges $390,000 to combat bird flu
ISLAMABAD (March 31 2004): The Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO) will provide a
grant of $390,000 for implementation of
disinfection techniques of the farms, mapping,
disease modelling, zoning and enhanced laboratory
diagnostic capacity.
In this connection, the government has signed an
agreement with FAO for training of farmers and
government workers on the safe disposal of disease
relating to animal particularly of the birds.
According to official sources on Tuesday, an
outbreak of Avian Influenza was reported in some
areas of Karachi outskirts during November and
December 2003, which caused heavy losses in terms
of casualties and culling of affected birds.
Taking immediate and necessary actions, the serum
and tissue samples from the birds of the affected
areas were collected and submitted to VRI, Lahore,
NARC Islamabad, NVL, Islamabad and world Reference
Laboratories, Weybridge, UK for diagnosis and
analysis of its typing.
All these laboratories reported that H7 and H9 has
affected Pakistan. These are poultry specific and
do not infect human beings. Since January 31,
2004, no fresh case of Avian Influenza has been
reported even in Karachi.
Since December last, an epidemic of Highly
Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Layers caused by a
virus called as Influenza A (H7 and H9 strain) has
been reported in Karachi outskirts, which resulted
in mortality of 1.2 million of layers and in
addition to this another 0.5 million of layers in
the affected area were culled.
This epidemic is historically unprecedented in its
scale, geographical spread and economic
consequences for the sector.
This sort of epidemic has also been reported in
Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Republic
of Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam.
In these countries, the epidemic also has
implications for human health because HSNI strains
have a documented propensity to exchange genes
with viruses from other species. And this genetic
re-assortment may lead to an emergence of a new
Influenza sub-type with pandemic potential.
Fortunately, H5 N1 has not been reported to date
in Pakistan, which has capacity to cause infection
and severe disease in humans.
The government, however, imposed inter-provincial
ban on the movement of poultry chicken. Besides,
culling and distraction of affected birds was done
and sero-surveillance in the effective area was
conducted for timely confirmation of human strain
of virus ie H5 and N1.
Courtesy Business Recorder |
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Pakissan.com; Advisory Point
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