Any outbreak of bird flu may cause a loss of Tk 1,525cr, says expert
Staff Correspondent
The country's economy could suffer a loss of Tk 1,525 crore if the poultry industry is affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, according to a paper presented at a seminar yesterday.The mortality rate of poultry birds affected by H5N1 virus, which is responsible for the recent outbreak of avian influenza in neighboring India and Myanmar, is 100 percent, said Dr Pranab Kumar Ghosh in his keynote paper. The virus can also affect human beings and in that case the mortality rate is 50 percent, he said at the seminar on 'Avian Influenza (Bird flu): Possible Threat for Bangladesh' at the LGRD auditorium in the city. Jica Alumni Association Bangladesh organised the seminar. Unless proper steps are taken beforehand to prevent bird flu, around 34 lakh people who are directly involved with the poultry industry would be unemployed, Dr Pranab said. He also said proper training and logistics supports for livestock officers, field workers and farmers along with effective surveillance across the country is a must to check the outbreak of bird flu. He also suggested some preventive measures such as avoiding contact among domestic poultry birds, commercial poultry birds and wild birds, ensuring bio-safety in the poultry farms, allowing only authorised persons into the farms and using internationally recognised disinfectants in the farms. Dr Jahangir Alam, director general of Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute, said, "We have collected samples of ducks, chickens and migratory birds from across the country and examined those, but neither H5N1 nor its antibody was found." Though the country is free of the virus, there should be an early warning system to guard against the bird flu, he added. CHO Eiichiro, additional resident representative of Jica Bangladesh, said that Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute and Jica are working together to protect the poultry industry from any potential threat. Kazi Abul Kashem, secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, said the government has already banned the import of poultry birds and products from bird flu-affected countries and introduced strict surveillance programmes in the country to prevent the outbreak of the disease. Jica Alumni Association President Md Azmal Chowdhury, General Secretary Ejar Uddin and Dr Mofazzal Hossain also spoke at the seminar.
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