You can eat us, properly cooked.Photo: AFP

LARGE-SCALE poultry farming started in our country in 1980s, and has drawn an investment of $1.457 billion. Resurfacing of the outbreak of bird flu has thrown this industry into a serous quagmire, as it is not only a health hazard but is also a serious blow to our economy.
Since its inception, five million people directly and indirectly related to this farming are proof that it is a gigantic industrial sector. Hence, tackling bird flu calls for concerted effort and immediate pragmatic steps.
A series of misfortunes have blown over the country, throwing us into a state of frenzy. The present one is bird flu. It has already affected 271 farms covering 78 upazilas in 43 districts. So far 883613 chicken have already been culled and 11,02,669 eggs have been destroyed. About 40% of the poultry farms have been closed.
Dense population, unhygienic market conditions, and lack of protective measures during poultry handling and meat processing pose serious health hazards for the city dwellers. The experts point out the lax monitoring of the market, lack of awareness among the poultry sellers and customers about fatality of killer disease.
Professor Mhamudur Rahman, Director, Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research said: "Dhaka city is extremely vulnerable, especially because of the dense population and close living quarters, which increases the potential for virus transmission. If affected poultry birds are transported to the city regularly with the current unhygienic condition of our kitchen markets and practice of poultry processing it will be a hard task to contain the situation if the deadly disease strikes. When a case of infection is identified all chickens around one a kilometer area have to be destroyed which is practically impossible."
In China and Thailand millions of chickens have been culled, and the farms are mostly far from human habitation. But the problem in our densely populated country is that culling safely is virtually impossible. The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock has so far identified 27 farms in Demra, Peelkhana, Lalbagh, Sabjubagh, and Mirpur. It means bird flu germs fly in the city of Dhaka, and in a very short period of time the germs can affect thousands of people. So, preventive measures must be taken by the government, the community and at the individual level.
Dependence on the government only cannot address the situation successfully as it is a gigantic problem. Dhaka City Corporation has already started monitoring bio-safety measures at all the kitchen markets. It has provided 50 plastic barrels to dump dead chicken and chicken wastes in different markets. They have also provided 2000 pairs of gloves and masks to the chicken sellers and traders.
But monitoring is important to make sure whether sellers are using them or not. Actually, due to un-awareness or business sensitivity, they hardly use these protective tools. Many chicken vendors even don't know what bird flu is and how it spreads.
However, the media, particularly the electronic media, must play the significant role during this period of calamity that has affected all sections of people. They must try to show how people can and should use the meat after proper treatment.
Serving of chicken has been stopped in hotels, restaurants and ceremonials feasts. The media must play a positive role if we want to keep this industry alive without affecting public health. How we can do it should be our main concern. This industry significantly contributes to our GDP, so we must protect it.
About 1.75 lakh to 2 lakh chickens are consumed in Dhaka everyday. Now the number has drastically reduced. Even AIDS and Sars could not create so much panic as bird flu has sparked. And it is the media, which has contributed to this situation.
WHO reports that deaths from bird flu has stood at 225 since 2003. Diarrhoeal disease has killed over two million children, and malaria 3 million, but avian flu only 225, but the media has created a panic. Now awareness should be created about how to eat the meat after proper treatment and processing.
When the meat of the chicken affected with bird flu can be taken after boiling it at 70 degrees Celsius, why don't we encourage the people to follow it? Wearing a mask while processing the meat and washing the hands after touching the meat can save an individual from being affected by bird flu. We must spread this message among the public without encouraging them to avoid eating chickens. We must give emphasis both on our health and economy.

Md. Masum Billah is a specialist in the Brac Education Programme, PACE.