Bird Flu panic spreads far and wide

New Delhi: A massive effort at culling chickens is on in Navapur village of Maharashtra.

But the state government is saying that a shortage of equipment and manpower is affecting the operation.

Meanwhile two more people are being kept in isolation at the Navapur hospital, taking the figure to five.

The two were in close contact with a man who died in Surat. But health ministry is yet to confirm if the Surat death occurred due to bird flu.

As many as 94 poultry workers are still in quarantine at poultry farms in Navapur. The Home Ministry has asked District Magistrates to help health workers in culling operations.

Farm owners are demanding Rs 10 as interim relief for each chicken killed. Health officials are conducting house-to-house search in Navapur to detect cases of bird flu.

Union Health minister Anbumani Ramadoss on Monsay assured Parliament that the situation was under control.

Meanwhile, reports of Bird flu have triggered panic buttons across the country.

The Indian Railways have withdrawn chicken dishes from their menu for three days. All major airlines, except Kingfisher, have also withdrawn chicken and egg from their menu.

The Indian Army has stopped buying chicken from more than 450 poultry farms in Ajmer in Rajasthan.

Many states across the country, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala & Jammu and Kashmir, have banned the import of chicken from other states. Punjab has ordered re-testing of local poultry samples.

And in a major blow to the country's poultry market - Sri Lanka and Nepal have banned all imports of Indian poultry products. The poultry industry in Kerala is facing a tough time.

The news of bird flu in Maharashtra has affected poultry sales badly. Sales across the state have dipped to an all-time low. Poultry owners have started reducing prices.

The government is taking no chances and has banned import of poultry from neighbouring states.

Meanwhile, apart from India, reports of bird flu have also come in from Egypt, France, Italy and Germany. France and Italy have reported one case each of bird flu.

This despite the fact that migratory birds from Asia that carry the virus do not normally travel there at this time of year.

In most parts of Western Europe, the disease has been confined to wild migratory birds. In Germany, the number of reported cases has now come to 59.

Experts are worried that the H5N1 strain of the virus could acquire the ability to spread from human to human through natural processes, setting off a worldwide influenza pandemic.

Check out our special coverage on Bird Flu