Has India really been hit by the bird flu?

March 18, 2006

For bird flu control, break shieldFriday March 17 2006 07:52 IST Anita Kar http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEM20060316213121 & Title=Main+Article & rLink=0 We Indians never learn from our mistakes. A few years ago, the country suffered enormous economic losses from the so-called ▒plague▓ epidemic. There was no conclusive

evidence that the organism that caused the outbreak was plague. The chaos that followed media reports displayed to the whole world the pathetic state of India▓s epidemic preparedness, and the deficiencies in its technical and scientific expertise. It should have taught India some lessons. But the remarkable manner in which we have stepped into the bird flu chaos ≈ first Navapur and now Jalgaon ≈ seems to confirm that we have still to learn from our mistakes.Perhaps one of the biggest contributors to the current avian influenza chaos is the lack of valid information from the government. India now has a significant section of educated people, who are left without any scientific information on whether the epidemic is actually due to the H5N1 avian influenza virus, or not. There is a low pathogenic influenza virus that is endemic in poultry in this and other countries. This strain does not cause the highly fatal disease caused by H5N1. It is an enormous tragedy

that Indians have been thrown into a state of panic without the government ever making available to the scientific community, information on the nature of the tests that have confirmed the presence of the H5N1 virus. This is a critical requirement for any outbreak investigation. After all, if Tamil Nadu can declare that 16,000 chicken died of causes other than infection through the H5N1 virus, why cannot the 40,000 birds of Navapur have died from infection caused by the same micro-organism?As the western media reported the H5N1 epidemic in wild and domestic birds, the Indian government initiated measures to check if the virus had surfaced in the country. The Animal Husbandry Department had met on the surveillance measures required to ensure the early detection of the virus. It appears baffling, therefore, as to why the Maharashtra government realised there was an epidemic only after 40,000 birds had died over a month-long period. What this reflects is the poor rapport

between the community and the animal husbandry officials. The department should ask itself why this happened.There is another important lesson for field officials. Keeping a watch on a disease is a joint effort that requires the trust and confidence of the communities involved, something that was obviously lacking in this case. The poultry industry in Maharashtra has conducted itself very badly. Its lack of cooperation in notifying the government about bird deaths was deplorable. Epidemic control measures are not possible without government involvement, since disease control involves intervention at various levels. The poultry▓s initial response to hide evidence has damaged its credibility.Influenza viruses are very interesting examples of how some viruses can swiftly change. As a result, it is impossible to have a single effective vaccine against the virus. Vaccination will not protect birds from H5N1. In any case, vaccination will be useless unless all birds

in an area are covered. It is important to reflect at this point on the backyard chicken rearing practices of the rural poor, and the feasibility of vaccinating all birds in a given area. Yet, despite reservations about the efficacy of vaccinations in European countries, the Indian government ≈ according to media reports ≈ has already purchased the vaccine and sent it to Nandurbar.There are, however, some interventions to the bird flu panic that need to be commended. Take, for instance, the response of the Maharashtra government▓s public health services. Even before it could be confirmed whether people with a cold, cough and fever were suffering from avian influenza, the public health machinery had swung into place, with a strategy of reassurance to the community as well as a ten-day period of surveillance. Quarantine measures of the high-risk group of people ≈ the persons who came in contact with the birds, and their immediate relatives ≈ were

put in place. Whether all this was an unnecessary wastage of money or not, can be debated, since we still do not know for sure if the birds of Navapur died of avian influenza or not, but it did go some way in restoring public confidence in the authorities.So where do we go from here? One thing we do need at this critical juncture is credible information. During the recent crisis, the Union government sent out confusing information. While one source announced that five human samples had tested positive, another insisted that they were not cases of avian influenza. The damage however was done. Not only has the economic loss to the poultry industry been in crores, the consequence of this epidemic on the local economy has been devastating. Let us remember that Nandurbar district has one of the largest concentration of tribals in the state of Maharashtra.It is imperative that the government puts in place a strategy for disseminating credible information to the pubic and

to the media during a reported outbreak. It is necessary that all announcements be made through a technically competent panel of experts, headed by a person with public health expertise and experienced in disease control measures. Politicians should only make statements that have been scientifically validated by the expert panel. It is statements made in haste that have led to the current mess. In the process, the Indian government has become one of the more gullible targets of international pharmaceutical companies, which find in such crises an opportunity to offload their large stockpiles of Tamiflu tablets.Finally, another major contributor to the current chaos has been the TV media. It would be very relevant if our TV channels evolve a code of ethics in handling news of this nature. By blowing out of proportion ≈ incomplete or partially understood ≈ facts, it has contributed to the enormous damage and loss-of-face that the country has suffered over bird

flu.The writer is coordinator, Master of Public Health Programme, and reader in Health Sciences Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, Pune University "Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from life but

the conquest of life by the power of the spirit." - Aurobindo.

Relax. Mail virus scanning helps detect nasty viruses!

March 18, 2006

The important point here is the rapidity - 7 days -

with which the flu virus can mutate .

Vaccines are useless , as their attenuated strains are

" frozen in time " - the only defense is good health

!! of both birds and people .

Battery farming of all birds and animals - driven by

profit - is the cause of the problems.

We are designed-evolved to work in Symbiosis with

Nature.

SEE http://www.symbiosis.bravehost.com/

March 20, 2006