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  Gopal Rai: Bird flu virus less infective, no human threat

Gopal Rai: Bird flu virus less infective, no human threat

AGE CORRESPONDENT
Published : Oct 22, 2016, 1:25 am IST
Updated : Oct 22, 2016, 1:25 am IST

Delhi development minister Gopal Rai visits the Gazipur poultry market in Delhi on Friday in the wake of bird flu scare. (Photo: G.N. Jha)

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Delhi development minister Gopal Rai visits the Gazipur poultry market in Delhi on Friday in the wake of bird flu scare. (Photo: G.N. Jha)

With the national capital going through a renewed bird flu scare, the Delhi government on Friday said that regular monitoring is being done, adding that the medical cards will be used at the entry gate of every mandi (wholesale market place) to curb the spread of the infection. Delhi’s development minister Gopal Rai, who visited the Ghazipur poultry market, said no infection was found in the 2.2 lakh birds which arrived recently.

The city government ruled out any threat to the human lives due to the bird flu as the strain of virus it said is “less infective”, even as six ducks were found dead at Deer Park on Friday, taking the total reported death count of migratory birds due to bird flu to 24 since October 14. Mr Rai also wrote to his counterparts in Haryana, Rajasthan and UP, requesting them to closely monitor bird sanctuaries and poultry farms as most of the migratory birds enter the capital through the neighbouring states.

Mr Rai said that the H5N8 virus were found in the samples of three of eight birds which had died recently at the Delhi zoo, and not the H5N1 virus, which are more “infective and dangerous” and “may affect humans”. Addressing a press conference, Mr Rai said there is no need to panic as all measures are in place to deal with the any situation.

He however said that H5N8 poses threat to birds as it affects them directly. So far, 24 birds have died at different places, which include 11 ducks at Deer Park, since October 14. He said no bird death has been reported on Friday at Delhi zoo, which has been shut amid bird flu scare.

A senior government official said there is no threat if a person eats properly cooked chicken, as the virus cannot survive high temperatures. “The category of H5N8 influenza has been found in the samples of three of the eight birds which died recently at Delhi zoo. A team of experts from Bhopal suggested that H5N8 is not harmful for human. This virus has also been found in US, Japan, Netherlands, China and other countries where H5N8 has not affected human,” he said.

Mr Rai chaired a meeting with chief secretary K.K. Sharma and officials from departments concerned over the situation. He also visited the Gazipur Murga Mandi to take stock of the situation.

The minister said a final report of three dead birds were put in the meeting where experts of Indian Council of Agricultural Re-search (Bhopal) and Indian Veterinary Research Institute (Bareilly), said these birds had died due to H5N8 influenza and it doesn’t put a threat to human beings.

In the meeting, it was also decided that samples of dead birds which were earlier sent to a lab in Jalandar will now directly be sent to a Bhopal-based lab run by the Centre. The minister said six ducks were found dead in Deer Park, while no avian death was reported from any part of the national capital.

“We have sent samples of the dead ducks to a laboratory in Bhopal,” he said.

As part of precautionary measures, the government has also ordered that drivers of vehicles carrying chicken will have to produce a certificate of fitness of the chicken, issued by poultry farms, at the entry point of Gazipur chicken wholesale market.

“After production of the certificate, such vehicles will be allowed by market officials to enter. We have also decided to form a 15-member team consisting of five officials each from government, market and traders’ wing who will closely monitor the consignment of the chicken inside the market,” Mr Rai said.

“Officials of the market have been asked to keep their surrounding cleans,” he said.

Location: India, Delhi, New Delhi