18 teams formed to cope with Bird Flu in Pakistan
'Pakistan Times' Federal Bureau

ISLAMABAD: Federal Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Livestock Friday high alerted all the concerned departments after confirmation of Bird Flu’s presence in Karachi while a radius of one kilometer area around the affected poultry farm in the city has been quarantined.

Commissioner Animal Husbandry, MINFAL, R.H. Usmani said that 18 teams have been formed across the country to cope with threat of Bird Flu. They have been provided special dress, glasses, gloves and spray, he added.

He said one kilometer area surrounding the affected poultry farm in Gadap area has been sealed and the transportation in and out of the farm has been prohibited.

Samples from one more poultry farm in Gadap have been arrived and their report will come out by tomorrow.

Commissioner Animal Husbandry said all precautionary measures have been taken after consulting the matter with Islamabad’s Administration.

He said birds that fly into the country from Russia every year in February carry along with them the Bird Flu virus.

An earlier report from Karachi had said that the Sindh government has confirmed the presence of bird flu virus in poultry farms located in Karachi's Gadap area.

Talking to Geo News, Sindh government's Poultry Research department director Dr.Ali Akbar today announced that the deadly H5N-1 strain of bird flu has been identified in Gadap and 5,000 chickens have already been culled.

Earlier, the department had sent samples from the poultry farms to the National research lab in Islamabad to confirm the presence of the highly contagious avian influenza.

The emergency has been declared in the hospitals across the province and isolation wards have been set up hospitals at Tehsil and District level in the wake of the confirmation of the bird flu in a Gadap Town poultry farm.

The City District Government Karachi Friday took action on a poultry farm suspected to have been infected by bird flu and buried more than 2,000 birds in a 100- feet deep trench while the farm situated in Gadap Town has been sealed by the authorities.

However, hundreds of birds were found dead in Thatta and Badin districts. The chickens were killed in poultry farms suspected to have been infected by H5N1 bird flu virus.

And, a report from Peshawar says that Department of Livestock has been issued special instructions for keeping a strict watch on Bird Flu in NWFP.

Secreatary Agriculture Arbab Shahrukh said it was also decided to shift the poultry farms away from densely populated areas of Abbotabad and Mansehra.

Blood samples of chicken are being gathered from poultry farms across the province, he said, adding teams at district level had also been set up to take stock of the situation at poultry farms in each district.

Arbab Shahrukh told the shifting of poultry farms from populated locations will be undertaken after ensuring all necessary facilities at the new locations.

Instructions are also being given to the people associated with poultry industry that all precautionary measures be taken while killing the infected birds. He said one person died in December last year by contracting fatal H5N1 virus.●