This story is from February 10, 2019

Bird flu confirmed, health department on alert to check spread

Bird flu confirmed, health department on alert to check spread
The mysterious death of crows has become a major cause of concern for residents of Gomia, where rotting carcasses of these birds have become a common sight.
BOKARO/RANCHI: The state animal husbandry department on Saturday confirmed that the mysterious death of crows and poultry in Gomia block of Bokaro and Mehrama block in Godda were due to avian flu. The department had on January 28 sent samples to National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSD), Bhopal, which said the tests confirmed the same, Dr Vijay Singh, director of the animal husbandry department, said.

Singh said: “In Gomia, bird flu has affected crows, while in Godda, the tests were positive for crows as well as poultry chicken. We have asked the administration to keep a vigil on the situation.”
The mysterious death of crows has become a major cause of concern for residents of Gomia, where rotting carcasses of these birds have become a common sight.
District animal husbandry officer Arun Kumar Sinha said: “We have now collected swabs of poultry and sent them for tests to confirm if bird flu has affected chicken. It is safe to consume eggs and chicken because they are cooked at very high temperatures. There is no need for panic.” He said response teams led by veterinary doctors have been constituted in each block.
State health, family welfare and medical education department has issued directives to all the district hospitals to screen people if they show any symptoms of swine flu. The surveillance officers at all the districts have been directed to collect samples for test. Viral Transport Media (VTM) kits have been available at all state-run medical colleges, including RIMS, MGMCH Jamshedpur and PMCH Dhanbad to ensure that patients can be tested within 24-48 hours of suspected infection. An advertisement has been issued for publication in all dailies so that people can be made aware about the disease.
Speaking to TOI, state surveillance officer of integrated disease surveillance program (IDSP) Rakesh Dayal said : “We have alerted all the district hospitals to maintain buffer stock of medicine and VTM kits have been supplied to them. We have also set up isolation wards at all the medical colleges and have directed the district surveillance officers to contact medical colleges in case of any detection.”
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