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NEW DELHI,
July 27 (Bernama) -- After an 11-month hiatus the life-threatening bird flu
started to flap northwards in India, forcing health workers to quickly
quarantine 21 farmers in a remote poultry village.
On Wednesday, positive traces of the highly pathogenic H5N1 Avian influenza
strain were found in Chingmeirong village near Imphal, capital of Manipur, a
northeastern state bordering Myanmar.
So far, 132 infected chickens have died since the outbreak on July 7, but no
human infection was reported. |
Although none of the farm
workers showed any sign of bird flu, health workers are on high alert with
control and containment operations stepped up to avert any major outbreak in
the populace.
Manipur Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Department secretary K.K.Chhetry
said all safety measures were being taken to curb any major health disaster
in the area. "We started culling the birds this afternoon. Health workers
and farmers within a 3km radius are put on anti-flu (drug) Tamiflu as a
preventive measure," he told Bernama from Manipur.
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The authorities are preparing
to slaughter at least 150,000 fowls within a 5km radius of the village.
Chhetry said the department had imposed a ban on poultry imports from
neighboring Bangladesh and Myanmar since two months ago due to bird flu threats.
The northeastern region is particularly vulnerable because of continuing
outbreaks in neighboring countries.-- BERNAMA |
