Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) on Wednesday clarified a news item published in a section of press regarding presence of bird flu in Pakistan. "The report was based on misunderstanding of the facts."
In fact, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock in collaboration with provincial governments and private sector was constantly monitoring the situation on day to day basis, the clarification issued by Minfal here said.
"Our monitoring policy has stressed on clinical surveillance in the poultry concentration areas, serological and virological surveillance from the suspected or even healthy poultry from the industrial as well as rural poultry sectors and surveillance (serological and virological) in migratory birds from different parts of the country," the statement added.
For surveillance, 12 laboratories in different poultry concentrated areas had been equipped for diagnosis.
A central laboratory at National Agricultural Research Centre (Narc) Islamabad had been especially developed to address Avian Influenza surveillance and monitoring.
So far during the last one-year, we had analysed more than 16,999 samples from poultry and more than 700 samples from migratory birds and have found no evidence of bird flue (AL-H5N1) in Pakistan.
Minfal has also recently sanctioned a rupees 40 million project to strengthen the surveillance and emergency preparedness, the clarification added.
It may be mentioned Avian Influenza (H7N3) hit Pakistan in 2003-04 which was effectively controlled by the use of culling of affected flocks, regular vaccination and improving bio-security measures.
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