Team from United Nations' to monitor flu status

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Feb. 11: "An experts' team from the United Nations' regional office of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Bangkok will visit Bird Flu affected areas in West Bengal including areas of Chanchal sub-division in Malda district", administrative officials said today. The team will pay attention to the contamination control programme in the affected areas after the outbreak of avian influenza.The team headed by Mr S Morzaria, chief technical advisor, regional office, FAO, Bangkok , would visit Malda's affected areas tentatively on Wednesday. The team is scheduled to reach West Bengal on Monday and would visit all the affected areas in the state.", Mr Debasish Sarkar, SDO, Chanchal said.The state authorities have directed the district administration to prepare required reports on the Bird Flu affected areas and the control programme taken up after culling operation and mopping up for the experts' team.It may be noted that after unnatural deaths of hundreds of backyard chickens at Mahanandapur village in Chanchal Block-I last month, in the northern part of the district, the High Security Animal Disease laboratory (HSADL) in Bhopal had confirmed avian flu.The state authorities finally had culled more than 86,000 backyard chickens in the region covering 5 km radius from the epicenter Mahanandapur in Malda and North Dinajpur areas.But the area within 5 km radius belonging to Katihar district in Bihar was reportedly left out while the culling operation was going on in West Bengal areas."The staff from animal resources development and labourers directly engaged in culling and mopping were quarantined for 10 days and many of them released on 10 February."Only 15 people, who were engaged in the mopping drive during the second phase to kill left out birds in Chanchal Block , have been quarantined and they would be released on 15 and 16 February", district officials said.According to the Malda chief medical officer, no cases of human avian flu have been detected in this region after a door to door survey was conducted.Following government's direction, the district administration has started another joint survey comprising ARD officials and local panchayat officials to finalise the list of beneficiaries to provide compensation in the Bird Flu affected zone here. #