AGL 40.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.02%)
AIRLINK 127.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.99 (-0.77%)
BOP 6.68 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (1.21%)
CNERGY 4.49 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-2.39%)
DCL 8.60 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.42%)
DFML 41.30 Decreased By ▼ -0.18 (-0.43%)
DGKC 86.71 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (0.15%)
FCCL 32.16 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (0.06%)
FFBL 64.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.72 (-1.1%)
FFL 10.29 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.39%)
HUBC 109.51 Decreased By ▼ -0.98 (-0.89%)
HUMNL 14.90 Increased By ▲ 0.15 (1.02%)
KEL 5.05 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-1.56%)
KOSM 7.40 Increased By ▲ 0.28 (3.93%)
MLCF 41.39 Decreased By ▼ -0.26 (-0.62%)
NBP 60.60 Increased By ▲ 0.51 (0.85%)
OGDC 190.00 Decreased By ▼ -4.69 (-2.41%)
PAEL 27.81 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-0.5%)
PIBTL 7.75 Decreased By ▼ -0.25 (-3.13%)
PPL 149.75 Decreased By ▼ -1.42 (-0.94%)
PRL 26.73 Decreased By ▼ -0.15 (-0.56%)
PTC 16.18 Increased By ▲ 0.18 (1.13%)
SEARL 86.02 Increased By ▲ 7.82 (10%)
TELE 7.72 Increased By ▲ 0.33 (4.47%)
TOMCL 35.58 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-0.25%)
TPLP 8.14 Increased By ▲ 0.23 (2.91%)
TREET 16.51 Increased By ▲ 0.62 (3.9%)
TRG 53.35 Increased By ▲ 0.59 (1.12%)
UNITY 26.28 Decreased By ▼ -0.27 (-1.02%)
WTL 1.26 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.79%)
BR100 9,889 Decreased By -31.1 (-0.31%)
BR30 30,611 Decreased By -140.9 (-0.46%)
KSE100 93,355 Increased By 130.9 (0.14%)
KSE30 28,931 Increased By 46 (0.16%)

The government on Tuesday reiterated that it is on alert to meet the challenge of virus avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu. A high-level meeting was held here under the chairmanship of federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) Secretary Ismail Qureshi to review the current status of avian influenza and to take further necessary steps.
The latest World Health Organisation (WHO) warning of a new flu pandemic has sent a fresh panic wave at the official level in Pakistan to put anti-virus operations on heightened alert across the country.
The meeting was informed that Pakistan has developed a national avian influenza surveillance system with the assistance of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.
The system includes central avian influenza laboratory at National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad and 12 satellite laboratories spread across the country.
During the last one-year, over 17,200 blood samples, 14,850 cloacal swabs and 1,580 tissue samples have been collected and processed in these laboratories.
So far, the meeting was informed that only H-7 type of virus has been reported in Pakistan and there is no evidence for the presence of H-5 N-I sero-type that has infected humans in South East Asian countries.
However, in view of the spread of the bird flu virus in South East Asia, China, Russia, Central Asian Republics, Turkey, Romania and Pakistan needs to be on guards.
In view of this, Minfal has approved a project for the surveillance and control of avian influenza in Pakistan.
The project will further strengthen surveillance in the poultry and wild birds to monitor the type of avian influenza's presence. Similarly, the project provides necessary measures for handling the outbreak of virus if it occurs in Pakistan. Bird flu has swept through poultry and wild birds in Asia since 2003. It has killed huge numbers of birds and lead to more than 60 human deaths.
A bird flu outbreak in Pakistan towards the dying end of 2003 caused major losses to the poultry industry of the country. It forced a volunteer culling of more than two million chickens in Karachi alone.
No human causality was, however, reported. The government, throughout the crisis, kept on denying the reports of virus outbreak in a desperate attempt to save the industry from losses.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2005

Comments

Comments are closed.