With the spread of bird flu to three more districts in the Indian state of West Bengal, there is a growing possibility of the virus making gradual inroads into the country through the eastern parts adjoining the Indian border. Indian officials say the number of birds culled in the 13 affected districts of West Bengal has crossed 2.3 million. The good news is that no cases of the disease spreading from one human to another has been documented. Despite the fact that Nepal has already imposed a ban on the import of poultry and poultry products from India besides setting up quarantine check-posts in several districts in the tarai, experts say these measures are largely inadequate to contain the outbreak of the fatal disease.
Bird flu is an infectious disease caused by several subtypes of the influenza virus. The disease, first identified in Italy more than 100 years ago, occurs worldwide. The number of countries reporting avian influenza in their bird flocks has grown at an alarming rate in recent weeks, increasing the risk that sooner or later a mutant strain of bird flu may set off a human pandemic.
Despite a worldwide bird flu alert, undeveloped countries such as Nepal have not taken adequate measures to cope with a possible flu pandemic. There is a Department of Livestock and an Animal Health Directorate to serve the interests of poultry farmers and consumers in the country. Similarly, a total of 21 animal quarantine check-posts have been established at different points along the Indian and Chinese borders to prevent the import of sick and contaminated fowl. Sad to say, they have been largely ineffective in meeting the needs of poultry farmers or consumers of poultry products. Consequently, there has been a rapid surge in the illegal import of poultry products through the Indian border and the condition of the quarantine check-posts has deteriorated further.
At the moment, the threat of bird flu to Nepalis is virtually nonexistent. No cases of avian flu have been found in birds or humans in this country.
However, additional measures are promptly needed to curb the growing threats of the avian influenza virus. First and foremost, security personnel deployed along the Indo-Nepal border must keep a wary eye on the transport of poultry products. Secondly, the government must educate poultry farmers and consumers about the disease and assure them of compensation in case of an outbreak. If the disease hits the poultry industry, everyone should be prepared to stay away from poultry farms, live animal markets and any other place liable to be contaminated with the droppings or saliva of infected birds.
Meanwhile, health officials must be cautious about any sudden outbreak of the virus in domestic poultry and the possible measures to contain the disease. It is high time Nepal learnt a lesson from more than a dozen flu-affected Asian countries, several of which were slow to acknowledge the problem and mount vigorous control efforts. Let us all remember the foolish mistake China made when it compromised efforts to control the SARS virus last year by hiding the initial outbreak. -
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