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Prevent killing of guest birds to tackle avian flu

Govt asks livestock

staff BDNEWS, Dhaka
The government, as per its emergency plan, has instructed the livestock officials to be on strict vigil to prevent the killing of the migratory birds, which have the potential to spread the bird flu virus in the poultry industry.
The instruction was given following the warning of the UN agencies that migratory birds are carrying the bird flu virus and Bangladesh, along with some other countries, have the potential to become new large endemic areas of bird flu infections as the countries are situated along one of the major migratory routes.
The UN also called on these countries to be vigilant for signs of disease in wild and domestic birds and prepare national emergency plans.
"We have instructed all upazila-level livestock officials to check killing of migratory birds in remote areas coming during the season," Md. Abdul Karim, secretary of the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, told the news agency.
Moreover the officials were also instructed to maintain strict surveillance and monitoring so that no domestic duck could come in contact with these migratory birds, he said, adding, "The officials will inform us regularly about the development."
Moreover, we will ban poultry import from bird flu infected countries, he said.
Karim said the government has chalked out a contingency plan to check the outbreak of bird flu diseases that will be done in phases. Measures will also be taken if the virus is found anywhere in the country.
However, the stakeholders in the poultry industry said these measures are insufficient.
"Adequate fund, proper training of these officials and laboratory facilities are necessary as preventive measure," said MM Khan, a poultry expert.
He said the government should keep the common people informed about its plans so that the stakeholders in the poultry industry and general people can be free from anxiety as the potential of infection cannot be ruled out due to infection in some neighbouring countries.
The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) reports that the avian influenza virus has already affected Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Japan in Asia.
Moreover, the leaders of the Citizens' Committee on Bird Flu Prevention in Bangladesh through a press conference claimed that a low level of pathogenic bird flu virus was detected in poultry industry of India. The committee urged the government to continue ban on poultry import from India.
Asked about the virus in India, MM Khan said the low pathogenic avian
virus, which has been found in India, could cause 70-100 percent death of poultry if it infects the birds having diseases like new castle, myco-plasmofis, coli-bacillosis.
"These diseases are prevailing in the local poultry industry," he said.
Presently, more then two lakh small and medium scale farms are operating across the country that employ five million people directly. The industry added nearly Tk 8,000 crore to GDP during the last fiscal.