Poultry farms to be registered to monitor Bird Flu outbreak in Pakistan
'Pakistan Times' Federal Bureau

ISLAMABAD: The government has formulated a plan to register all poultry farms for ensuring proper monitoring system in order to check any outbreak of bird flu in the country.

According to official sources here Sunday, the decision was taken in the wake of high transmission season and the global threat posed by H5N1 Influenza virus.

They said the provincial and district Governments have been asked to adopt recommended measures for preventing and averting any outbreak of avian influenza.

The provincial and regional health departments have also been asked to strengthen surveillance system and designate District Surveillance Officers.

They said besides other steps personnel protective equipment have been dispatched to the provincial health departments, Islamabad Capital Territory, FANA and FATA from National Influenza Project.

Similarly tool kits for early detection and control of human cases of avian influenza have been developed and distributed to the provinces.

They said the Ministry of Health has already adopted special preventive measures on the poultry outbreak of influenza in the country.

According to health experts the virus may expand from one farm to another and to population by mechanical means like contaminated equipment, vehicles, feed, bird-cages etc..

They said Avian Influenza which is a contagious poultry disease caused by type A strains of the influenza virus, may result in rapid systemic illness and death to susceptible birds.

The infection may lead to development of disease in human beings with symptoms ranging from typical influenza like fever, cough, sore throat and

Employees Quarantined

And in Karachi, Sindh Health Department has advised the employees working at the law enforcing agency (LEA)’s affected poultry farm not to come out of the vicinity of the farm, while the affected chickens’ blood samples report was expected tomorrow.

Sindh Health Department sources told that the department has advised the LEA officers that the workers of this farm numbering about 9 should not be allowed to go out of the farm so that the possible virus spreading could be prevented.

Sources told that all the employees of the LEA farm were healthy and their temperature is being checked every morning and the evening, none of them were found affected, however, they have advised not to go out of the farm as precautionary measure.

This poultry farm is located adjacent to the bird flu hit farm, where nearly 2500 chickens died during the last few days.

Sources told that the report on the blood samples of the affected chickens was expected tomorrow from Islamabad, while the poultry farm employees admitted into the Karachi Civil Hospital were also healthy.●