The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Experts at a roundtable in the city said everybody should not be panicked for the present bird flu situation. But people have become panicked due to wrong presentation of different types of information.

Till now nobody in the country was infected by bird flu virus after having chicken or egg, they said.

"If the farm owners would become more aware about the virus of bird flu, it could not spread so rapidly. In case of cooking, our traditional system is appropriate to prevent the bird flu virus," they said.

More than Tk 4,000 crore has been lost so far in the poultry sector. The government should give more compensation to the affected poultry farm owners, they urged. The roundtable on 'Bird Flu and Solution' jointly organised by Watchdog Bangladesh and Breeder's Association of Bangladesh (BAB) at the National Press Club yesterday.

Prof Dr Md Mansurul Amin of Dept of Microbiology and Hygiene of Bangladesh Agriculture University, presented a keynote paper, while Prof SD Chowdhury, poultry science expert, Prof Dr Sattar Mandal, agriculture economist, Dr Jahangir Alam, Director General of Livestock Research Institute, Moshiur Rahman, General Secretary of BAB, Sazzad Hossain, CEO of Watchdog Bangladesh, among others, spoke on the occasion.

Prof Mansurul Amin in his paper said though bird flu virus has affected over 40 districts in the country, but there is no evidence of attacking it to human body. There is nothing happened to be panicked till now.

Prof Sattar Mandal said within two to three months eating of chicken meat would reach at normal stage. Prof SD Chowdhury urged the government and media to play vital role to create awareness among people about bird flu virus. Prof Habibul Islam said if any chicken would be infected with bird flu, its chick or eggs could not be infected. If there were any virus in eggs or chicks, it would be easier to destroy them. Bird flu virus would be destroyed by spraying or boiling in five to 10 minutes. Dr Jahangir Alam said at present, there are about Tk 10,000 crore investment in poultry sector in the country. About 40 per cent investment has already faced lose due to detection of bird flu virus. The government should give more compensation to the affected farm owners to overcome the matter.