Sunday, April 24, 2011

Bird flu still entrenched in India, 5 other countries: FAO

PTI, Apr 22, 2011, 07.49pm IST

NEW DELHI: United Nations body FAO has said the contagious Avian flu virus H5N1, which causes bird flu, still remains firmly entrenched in India and five other countries because of unhygienic trade practises.

"...the virus remains firmly entrenched in Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia and Vietnam," Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said in a statement.

"Eliminating the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus from poultry in the six countries where it remains endemic will take 10 or more years," it added.

According to FAO, the factors responsible for the entrenchment of the virus are complex production and market chains, with poultry reared and sold under conditions that afford little protection from influenza viruses.

Quality of public and private veterinary and animal production services and the level of commitment in dealing with H5N1 were other factors, it said.

H5N1 strain of highly contagious avian influenza (H5N1 HPAI) reported in 60 countries reached its peak in 2006. However, presently the virus has been stamped out in most of the countries, the statement added.

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