Bird flu: Health Ministry deputes central team to probe situation

The Health Ministry Wednesday deputed a central team to take stock of the ground situation in the wake of outbreak of bird flu in West Bengal.

The team comprising three experts from the National Centre for Disease Control, New Delhi and the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Kolkata, will report back to the Centre following concerns expressed by the Prime Minister.

Public Health teams of the state government are already initiating measures in the affected area of the state to ensure that the virus does not infect humans. They would be going house to house in the affected area in Nadia district of West Bengal and test the contact history of flu-prone people.

Already, animal husbandry experts are engaged in culling chickens and destroying eggs in the affected areas to keep the infection from spreading any further.

The H5 flu is said to be particularly infectious and has larger consequences for humans as compared to the flu caused by other sub-types of Influenza A virus, the primary bird flu causing virus, said health officials.

Health Ministry sources said there was nothing to worry about at present and the situation was being constantly monitored . The further course of action would be devised after the central team reports back on the outbreak.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had expressed concern on bird flu scare in West Bengal and Assam and had yesterday directed the animal husbandary department to take steps in coordination with the state governments to prevent outbreak of epidemic.