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Indian Government Alerts Wildlife Wardens of Bird Flu Risk

Posted on: Monday, 7 November 2005, 09:00 CST

Excerpt from report by Abhigyan Hans headlined: "Bird flu: wildlife wardens alerted" by Indian newspaper The Asian Age website on 6 November

New Delhi, 5 November: The Centre [Indian federal government] has alerted all chief wildlife wardens across the country about the possible risk of the bird flu outbreak and sent safety guidelines for handling wild birds.

They have also been asked to report and liaison with local veterinary and animal husbandry departments.

According to official sources, a list of important bird areas have also been sent to the commissioner, animal husbandry to increase surveillance in areas where there is a greater chance of mixing of poultry and migratory birds.

The ministry of environment and forest has also initiated discussions with avian biology experts to deal with the possible outbreak of the disease while meetings are being held with voluntary organizations like the Wetland International, Bombay Natural History Society, WWF [World Wildlife Fund] for chalking out an action plan for preventive and remedial measures.

"Issues of collaboration have been chalked out with animal husbandry department," sources said. "Since this is a highly pathogenic virus, special training programmes for wildlife personnel in handling such samples are being organized by the regional offices of the department of animal husbandry and the concerned chief wildlife wardens have been informed to depute suitable officers."

While the precise causes of spread of the disease are not known, a number of likely routes are considered by the environment ministry, including unhygienic poultry practices, transportation and sale of live poultry and poultry products, movement of humans vehicles between poultry farms, trade in wild birds and normal movements of wild migratory birds, particularly ducks. [passage omitted]

Source: BBC Monitoring South Asia

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