Bird flu: Task force to keep tabs on situation in Panchkula

Tribune News Service
Panchkula, January 7

Deputy Commissioner Mukesh Kumar Ahuja has formed a district-level task force to keep a watch on the evolving situation at poultry farms in Barwala and Raipur Rani where 4.37 lakh birds have died of a mysterious disease within a month.

Sample report may be out by evening

• Sources at the Northern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (NRDDL) in Jalandhar said the report of the samples collected from Barwala and Raipur Rani poultry units was likely to be out by Friday evening. “If the report of samples turns out positive for bird flu, these will be sent to a Bhopal-based lab for confirmation as per the standard protocol of the Government of India,” the sources said.
• A team from Jalandhar had collected 57 random samples from Barwala-Raipur Rani poultry farms on Tuesday and Wednesday to ascertain the cause of death.

The task force includes officials from the Health Department, Animal Husbandry Department and Police Department, and other block-level officers. A meeting of the task force will be held for the first time tomorrow.

The authorities have also made an isolation centre at the Community Health Centre in Raipur Rani if there was a case of influenza-like symptoms. Besides, Tamiflu tablets have been procured.

A rapid response team of the Central Government arrived here today to assess the situation amid the bird flu fear due to unusual number of dead poultry birds.

The team comprising two officials of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), one from the PGI, Chandigarh, and a Regional Director (Government of India) held discussions with the district authorities, including the Deputy Commissioner.

The four-member team will be visiting the affected areas tomorrow to assess whether there was any impact of unusual mortalities of birds on human life.