Civil surgeons asked to ensure isolated units

Apprehending that bird flu might transmit into human beings also, the government yesterday directed civil surgeons of all the districts to create isolated units for treating any such patient urgently.
The directive, which was circulated over telephone on an emergency basis, says, “The isolated units or rooms should be four-to-five-bedded accommodations and would have to be one metre apart from each other.”
Health Secretary AKM Zafrullah at a meeting at the ministry also issued a directive to the Construction, Management and Maintenance Unit (CMMU) of the health department in this regard, a high official of the ministry told UNB.
According the health ministry, till January 27 bird flu affected some 3,26,844 chickens in 48 thanas of 29 districts and six metropolitan thanas, and all the affected chickens from 93 poultry farms were culled by the Livestock Department.
Earlier, the Chief Adviser's Special Assistant Manik Lal Samaddar said the livestock ministry is working with the health ministry to check spread of the avian influenza into human body. “If people are affected with avian influenza, it would create a hindrance to manpower export,” he observed.
Our staff correspondent in Rajshahi reports: At least 12,000 chickens reportedly infected with the H5N1 strain of bird flu were culled at a farm in Rajshahi last night.
The culling of poultry was still going on as of 9:00pm.
Sources said the owner of Shahi Poultry Farm informed the district administration in the afternoon about his chickens dying in hundreds.
The district livestock officials visited the farm and decided to cull all the 12,300 chickens of the farm after they found evidence of poultry being infected with the H5N1 strain of bird flu.