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After receiving confirmation of a Bird Flu outbreak in Assam a few days ago the state health department of West Bengal has put all the districts on high alert. A letter dated 1st December was issued to all the chief medical officers of health in the state by the joint director of public health. Hospitals in the state have been asked to keep tabs on influenza cases. District health officials and administration has also been asked to be prepared to deal with an emergency situation efficiently.
Briefing the media, a senior health department official of West Bengal said, “On 1st December the Centre notified us of a Bird Flu outbreak in our neighboring state Assam. On that day itself, we have put all our districts on high alert. Primarily, it was decided that only north Bengal districts would be put on alert. But later, all the districts were cautioned because the H5N1 virus has hit Bangladesh too. Earlier this year, Bird Flu entered the state when cattle traders brought poultry to Birbhum from Bangladesh.”
The animal resources development department (ARD) has also decided to increase surveillance on poultry. This time stress has been laid on bordering districts so that no infected bird is brought into the state from Bangladesh. The Centre has also asked the Border Security Force to keep a sharp watch on the cattle traders. and has instructed BSF to prevent them from taking any kind of poultry into the state from Bangladesh.
