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India free from bird flu, says Government

     New Delhi: The Indian Government has said that the country is free from bird flu after extensively testing of over 14,000 birds across the country. ''In the last two years, more than 14,000 random samples taken from various parts of the country's farms for testing bird flu, tested negative. Therefore, there is absolutely no need for any worry on this count and poultry or its products in India is absolutely safe for consumption,'' P M A Hakeem, Secretary, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (AHD) informed mediapersons at a press conference on 'Centre's Preparedness on Avian Flu'. Hakeem also announced that all poultry owners would be compensated if any positive case is detected from their farms as all their flocks would stand culled in that case. The import of poultry, even if it is minimal, from all the bird flu affected countries has been banned. India itself has more than 500 million poultry, he added. A Joint Action Group between the Department of Health and Family Welfare and DADF is active and constantly reviewing the situation, he said.

    Currently, India has one big disease diagnostic lab (DDL) with complete system in Bhopal, four regional DDLs in Pune, Bangalore, Jalandhar and Kolkata and one Central DDL in Izzar Nagar (UP) and more laboratories are being geared up for increased surveillance. ''Recently, we have intensified surveillance to include poultry around the bird sanctuaries as well as migratory birds visiting these sanctuaries. Preventive steps to face any eventuality are also being taken at all levels and even on suspicion the checks start and if the mortality rate is more than the average in a farm, the measures are being taken to check the menace,'' Hakeem said. The Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (DADF) has been carrying out extensive surveillance in the country against bird flu, and the DADF through State Animal Husbandry Departments is constantly monitoring the situation. India learnt a bitter lesson in early 2004 when the consumption of eggs and chicken dropped due to panic and the industry suffered a loss of over Rs 3,000 crore (675 million US dollars). At present, there are no reports of any demand drop in Delhi market. The market receives about 120 vehicles a day (96,000 to 100,000 birds) a day. Delhis demand is about 240,000-250,000 birds a day and almost 40 per cent comes to the Delhi Poultry Market. The Department of Animal Husbandry, Ministry of Heath, Ministry of Environment and Forest are all coordinating the efforts on preparedness for the eventuality. According to FAO, recent outbreaks of transboundary diseases and the imposition of disease-related export restrictions had an immediate impact on global meat trade in the 2004-05. FAO has reminded consumers that avian influenza is not a food- borne disease and that the bird flu virus is killed by the heat of normal cooking.

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