The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

A large number of crows were found dead in the city yesterday. At least three dead crows were also found in Dhaka University area.

Indian laboratories may soon start testing samples from Bangladesh to identify the H5N1 avian influenza virus.

India is planning to ask the Bangladesh government crippled by a severe bird flu outbreak, to send ground samples to the laboratories there for rapid testing and genetic sequencing.

Syed Ataur Rahman, Secretary of Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, said that samples are being sent all the way to the OIE Reference Laboratory for Avian Influenza in Weybridge in UK for testing.

"Bangladesh does not have its own facility to genetically sequence virus strains. That's why samples are being continuously sent to Thailand and UK," he said.

India has world-class bio-security level (BSL) III and IV laboratories, like the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) in Bhopal and National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune.

Meanwhile, Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) has set up a control room in the DCC on Friday to receive any information on the outbreak of bird-flu and called for the removal and disposal of the dead chicken, duck, pigeon or crows found in the city area.

An emergency review meeting of the DCC yesterday took the decision for setting up of the control room with telephone numbers 9556014 and 9004734.

Veterinary officer of the DCC Dr Azmat Ali will be in charge of the control room.

Dr Azmat said, "The meeting decided to provide special drum and container in 50 kitchen markets in the capital city to dump the dead fowls and leftovers of the poultry birds and carry the wastes in special container to Matuail landfill to bury.

The meeting discussed the programmes jointly taken by the DCC and Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock in the city to control the outbreak of the bird-flu.

The H5N1 virus was first detected in Bangladesh in March 2007. Since then, over 39 districts out of 64 of the country have been affected by bird flu.

Pradeep Kumar, Animal Husbandry Secretary of India, said that India was planning to extend a helping hand to its neighbouring countries in testing their samples, said Dr Azmat.