Following reported new bird flu (H5N1) cases in poultry farms in Sindh and the NWFP, the federal government has asked all the provincial governments to put in place proper surveillance system at provincial and district levels to deal with the situation.
Sources in Ministry of Health told Business Recorder on Tuesday that the federal government has directed the provincial governments to start preparations to tackle the situation and proper vaccination of birds.
It may be mentioned that the government on Monday reported new bird flu cases in poultry farms in Sindh and the NWFP and culled all the birds at these farms and disinfected the area. According to sources, the Ministry of Health is also going to start emergency preparedness programme in the country to tackle any situation as by adopting the early preparation strategy every hard situation can be handled effectively. The government has also asked the provincial heads of health system to improve management capacity to achieve better results of any campaign related to public health.
According to the Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC), the H7 and H9 strains do not transmit to humans. This kind of virus does not transmit to humans from chickens. There was "a rare chance" it could transform into a more fatal strain in the H5 category "which usually breaks the species barrier".
Talking about the bird flu, veterinary experts told this scribe that it is an infectious disease of birds caused by type A strains of the influenza virus. The disease, which was first identified in Italy more than 100 years ago, occurs world-wide. "All birds are thought to be susceptible to infection with avian influenza, though some species are more resistant to infection than others. Infection causes a wide spectrum of symptoms in birds, ranging from mild illness to a highly contagious and rapidly fatal disease resulting in severe epidemics. The latter is known as "highly pathogenic avian influenza". This form is characterised by sudden onset, severe illness, and rapid death, with a mortality that can approach 100 percent. Fifteen subtypes of influenza virus are known to infect birds, thus providing an extensive reservoir of influenza viruses potentially circulating in bird populations. To date, all outbreaks of the highly pathogenic form have been caused by influenza A viruses of subtypes H5 and H7', they said.
According to them, apart from being highly contagious, they said avian influenza viruses are readily transmitted from farm to farm by mechanical means, such as by contaminated equipment, vehicles, feed, cages, or clothing. Highly pathogenic viruses can survive for long periods in the environment, especially when temperatures are low. Stringent sanitary measures on farms can, however, confer some degree of protection.
They further said that the first documented infection of humans with an avian influenza virus occurred in Hong Kong in 1997, when the H5N1 strain caused severe respiratory disease in 18 humans, of whom 6 died. The infection of humans coincided with an epidemic of highly pathogenic avian influenza, caused by the same strain, in Hong Kong's poultry population.