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New Bird Flu
Outbreaks In Pakistan

From Patricia Doyle, PhD
2-7-7

New Bird Flu Outbreaks In Pakistan - Farm Conditions Contributed
 
 
Hello Jeff - Avian diseases will spread throughout Pakistan and beyond if conditions at farms are not changed. The following depicts a deplorable situation.
 
"Dr. Sajjad said workers in poultry farms were unaware of the dangers of bird flu and they lacked proper training to handle sick and dead
birds, adding that in poultry farms there were no arrangements to keep healthy birds away from the sick ones. He said that vehicles transporting eggs and poultry from poultry farms to markets and shops were highly contaminated with bird saliva and excrements, and that these vehicles were rarely washed. In addition, transportation of birds and eggs in these dirty vehicles was a grave threat of spreading poultry diseases, including bird flu."
 
 
New Bird Flu Outbreaks In Pakistan 
2-7-7
 
(AFP) -- After finding the H5N1 bird flu virus in small flocks of chickens and peacocks, Pakistan reports its first two cases in almost a year, said officials.
 
Food, Agriculture and Livestock Ministry spokesman, Mohammad Afzal, said all the chickens in a flock of 40 birds had died after the deadly virus was detected in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad.
 
"The virus was found in domestic poultry in Rawalpindi. Eighteen birds died and tests confirmed they were infected with H5N1 virus, the rest of the birds were then slaughtered," he told AFP.
 
Several major chicken farms are located in the area, however, it is believed to be an an isolated case.
 
Afzal said the virus had also been detected in a flock of peacocks in Mansehra in North West Frontier Province. Eighteen birds died and the rest slaughtered.
Afzal added: "There is no case of human infection."
 
The virus has not yet been found in commercial poultry following the latest outbreak and the government had provided farmers with enough vaccine to protect their birds.
Pakistan produces 4.5 million chickens annually, while peacocks are often kept for decorative purposes and as a good luck charm to bring their owners wealth.
 
 
Bird Flu In Pet Birds In Pakistan Confirmed
 
Pak Tribune
2-6-7
 
The presence of bird flu in pet birds has been confirmed in a few areas of Rawalpindi and Mansera
 
According to details, 18 pet birds have been killed in the area of Saddar, Rawalpindi, and some in Mansera due to the presence of the H5N1 strain. It has been said that a man in the area of Rawalpindi Saddar, has kept several birds at his house, and that 18 died due to the avian [flu] virus. On the other hand, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock [Minfal] has confirmed the cases of bird flu in pet birds underlining that no such cases have occurred from any poultry farms where there are hundreds of hens .
 
Meanwhile, since the occurrence of bird flu in February 2006 in Pakistan, Minfal in collaboration with provincial livestock departments and the Pakistan Poultry Association, has continued surveillance for the disease throughout the country. The surveillance included 64 000 samples of blood, tracheal swabs, and tissues from the dead and morbid birds.
 
In commercial poultry, vaccination against H5N1 is being carried out at large scale, which has given good results. Since the 3 Jul 2006 (outbreak, no further outbreaks or cases of avian influenza (H5N1) have been reported.)
 
http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?168139
 
 
 
H5N1 Bird Flu Found In Pakistan
 
Pakistan Times Wire Service
2-6-7
 
 
Pakistani scientists have found the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in a small flock of chickens near Islamabad, almost a year after the virus was found in 2 poultry flocks.
 
Mohammad Afzal, Livestock Commissioner at the Ministry of Agriculture, said all the chickens in the flock of about 40 birds at a house in Rawalpindi, a city adjoining Islamabad, had died or been culled. "They tested positive for the H5N1 strain," Afzal told media. "It has been contained and there is no danger of the spread of this virus because there are no poultry farms near this house."
 
http://www.pakistantimes.net/2007/02/07/top11.htm
 
 
Pakistan Medical Association Concerned Over Bird Flu Reports
 
Dawn.com (Pakistan)
2-6-7
 
Showing grave concern over the reported presence of bird flu in a cottage poultry farm in Rawalpindi, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) Karachi Chapter on Tuesday [6 Feb 2007] expressed its fear that the lack of hygiene standards in [the country's] poultry sector might spread the deadly disease in the country. PMA Karachi General Secretary Dr. Qaiser Sajjad told PPI [Pakistan Press International] that according to Livestock Commissioner at the Ministry of Agriculture, Muhammad Afzal, all the chickens in the flock of about 40 birds at a house in Rawalpindi had died or been culled as a result of H5N1. He said that Pakistan's 1st reported cases of H5N1 bird flu were found in chickens in February last year [2006] in the NWFP [North-West Frontier Province], where about 40 000 chickens were culled.
 
He regretted that almost the whole poultry framing sector, as well as shops selling chicken, were being run on unhygienic lines and there was no check and balance to impose proper hygienic and precautionary measures to ensure safety of poultry farm and chicken shop workers and consumers, especially housewives who directly touch raw chicken and eggs during cooking.
 
Dr. Sajjad said that former City Nazim of Karachi Niamatullah Khan during his tenure had formed an inquiry committee comprising medical experts, poultry associations, chicken sellers bodies and other stakeholders to visit poultry farms as well as chicken selling outlets in the city to prepare a report about precautionary and hygienic methods being adopted by this sector. He said that the committee members extensively visited poultry farms, poultry markets, and chicken shops in various parts of the city and submitted a report to Niamatullah Khan in which they expressed grave concern over the lack of precautionary measures and hygienic standards in the poultry sector.
 
Dr. Sajjad said workers in poultry farms were unaware of the dangers of bird flu and they lacked proper training to handle sick and dead birds, adding that in poultry farms there were no arrangements to keep healthy birds away from the sick ones. He said that vehicles transporting eggs and poultry from poultry farms to markets and shops were highly contaminated with bird saliva and excrements, and that these vehicles were rarely washed. In addition, transportation of birds and eggs in these dirty vehicles was a grave threat of spreading poultry diseases, including bird flu.
 
http://www.dawn.com/2007/02/07/local31.htm
 
 
ProMED-mail
 
This would suggest that HPAI may be the least of their worries. Such
poor management system assures the persistence of a range of zoonotic
and avian infections. - Mod.MHJ
 
 
Patricia A. Doyle DVM, PhD
Bus Admin, Tropical Agricultural Economics
Univ of West Indies
 
 
Please visit my "Emerging Diseases" message board at:
http://www.emergingdisease.org/phpbb/index.php
Also my new website:
http://drpdoyle.tripod.com/
Zhan le Devlesa tai sastimasa
Go with God and in Good Health


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