No case of H5N1 infection, govt steps up bird flu fight

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government on Friday scaled up measures to  prevent and contain bird flu  in the affected areas and decided to procure nearly four lakh tablets and more safety kits. Isolation facilities will be created in major hospitals to treat people with suspected H5N1 symptoms.

The government said that so far no cases of H5N1 had been reported from  the state.   At a high-level meeting presided over by Chief  Minister Oommen Chandy to review the situation, health officials said that  30,000 Oseltamivir tablets would be procured on Saturday.  

While orders have been placed for another 50,000 tablets, tender process would be initiated for obtaining three lakh tablets.

As of now, the state had 20,000 safety kits and a decision has been taken to procure more. Officials said that distribution of compensation of Rs 200 each for ducks and chicken above two months and Rs 100 each for ducklings  had started in affected areas on Friday.

As on Thursday, 18,882 ducks had died due to bird flu in the state. The meeting decided to form more squads to complete culling operations within three days. Forty-four  squads are carrying out culling now. 

Apart from the control rooms set up at the district headquarters,  the health and animal husbandry departments  will open  similar control rooms in panchayats and primary health centres in bird flu-hit  areas.

The facilities for observation and treatment of people coming with symptoms of suspected H5N1 have been put in place in district hospitals. An isolation unit with ventilator facility has been earmarked in Alappuzha medical college and similar facilities are being set up in other hospitals as well.

Health officials said the facilities which were created  and the staff trained for countering the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), H1N1 infection and  Ebola threat in various district hospitals and tertiary care institutions had  come in handy for the department.

Meanwhile, teams of health officials comprising doctors have so far visited 14,057 houses in Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta districts.  Nobody has been affected by H5N1.

The central team visited various places in Kottayam district. The transportation of poultry to and fro the affected areas has been banned.