Govt fully alert to tackle Bird Flu, says Secy Food

ISLAMABAD—The government is fully alive to the worldwide situation of Bird Flu and prepared to effectively tackle it if erupted in the country.
Secretary Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL) Muhammad Ismail Qureshi stated this while talking to APP here Thursday.
He said "the Ministry of Food and Agriculture is continuously monitoring the bird flu situation round the world". The government has already suspended the import of poultry and poultry products from about 13 bird flu affected countries, he said adding, these countries include Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Cambodia, North Korea, Laos, Russia, Kazakhistan, Magnolia, Turkey, Greece and Romania.
In this regard, Ismail Qureshi said, a national monitoring plan for bird flu has also been setup in the country. This includes a Central Reference Laboratory for Avian Influenza at National Agriculture Research Centre, Islamabad.
Besides, he said, 12 satellite laboratories have also been established throughout the country. They will collect samples from suspected outbreaks as well as different types of normal poultry and send to laboratories for evaluation and confirmation of the infected disease.
The Central laboratory has been directed to monitor the wildlife for the presence of bird flu stance, he added.
It is feared that if bird flu erupts than it would seriously affect the poultry industry in the country.
This will automatically bring down the prices of poultry products particularly broiler chicken that is already noted to have fallen from Rs. 75/- per KG to Rs. 60/- per KG in a single day after the spread of the news of bird flu in the country. It is also believed that bird flu is a sort of influenza, which may deadly infect both birds especially domestic poultry and humans.
The government has taken a very serious note of spread of the disease in the country" says Secretary MINFAL.
Government has allocated an initial sum of 40 million rupees for monitoring and surveillance of avian influenza in the country, said Secretary MINFAL.—APP