Killer in the Cafe....BIRD FLU...
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India bird flu tests 'negative' Health Ministry officials In India report that 94 out of 95 samples collected from people with flu-like symptoms have tested negative for bird flu. Results from one final sample are expected on Saturday. The authorities have now completely sealed the town of Navapur in the state of Maharashtra, which has a population of 30,000, and also 19 nearby villages. "There is no human case of avian influenza till now," a statement released by India's health ministry said. It said one sample was still being tested. A dozen people have been kept in an isolation ward in a state-run hospital in Navapur town since the country's first outbreak of the H5N1 strain of bird flu was confirmed among chickens on Saturday. Veterinary workers began cleaning up chicken farms and disinfecting homes in Navapur after culling hundreds of thousands of chickens hit by bird flu. In neighbouring Gujarat a mass exodus of tribals is reported from affected areas of Maharashtra-Gujarat border (Navaopur/Uchhal) in search of jobs to the adjoining city of Surat. The local administration has geared up the health checkups in border villages. A clean-up operation in Uchhal town has been launched to burn, bury or carry away the bird faeces for destruction. People engaged in this operation are using protective gears. Forest and Animal Husbandry Departments have stepped-up surveillance at 1200 water bodies in the state and are keeping a close vigil over migratory birds. India is now bird flu-free New Delhi , Aug. 12 India is an avian influenza free country, according to the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries. It sent a report on Saturday to the Office International des Epizooties (OIE), World Organisation of Animal Health. Having tested nearly 67,000 samples from the outbreak areas in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat by the High Security Disease Laboratory at Bhopal, no evidence of the highly pathogenic avian influenza was detected. After detecting the first outbreak on February 18 this year in districts such as Navapur, Ucchal and Jalgaon, the Government initiated containment measures, which included culling, restricting the movement of poultry products and disinfections. Subsequent to the last outbreak, reported on April 18, the Government completed its final culling operation and disinfection process by May 7. Considering the global spread and the situation in neighbouring countries, surveillance would be continued, especially in areas with major poultry concentration and visited by migratory birds, said the press release. Bird flu in Asia: Outbreaks of avian influenza are still occuring in some Asian countries, FAO said today, stressing the need for continued control campaigns. Countries affected by the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus are Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Laos, Thailand and Viet Nam. "The situation in some countries is still unclear and further epidemiological investigations are required to get the virus under control," FAO said. FAO estimates that about 100 million birds have died or have been culled to battle the disease (Thailand 36 million, Viet Nam 36 million, China 5 million, Pakistan 4 million, Indonesia 15 million). FAO has sent several disease experts to Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Pakistan, Thailand and Viet Nam to assess the local situation and assist countries in their battle against the disease. The findings of these missions will be instrumental to understand the origin of the epidemic and the factors that lead to such a wide and massive spread of the virus. Surveillance and control strategies should be continued, FAO urged, including elimination of all birds in infected production units and the strengthening of biosecurity measures. Officials from 23 Asia-Pacific countries, international experts, donor and development organizations will meet in Bangkok, 26-28 February 2004, for a regional emergency meeting on bird flu to discuss control strategies and rehabilitation measures.
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