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Bird flu: All human samples test negative(The Times of India Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government's worst fears about the bird flu virus jumping from chickens to human beings in Nawapur have been laid to rest. All 200-odd human blood samples collected in the region have tested negative for bird flu at the National Institute of Virology, Pune. The health department had collected these samples from Nawapur's residents, many of them bird handlers and poultry farm workers, after the avian flu outbreak was reported last month. Over 40,000 chickens died of the disease and 3.5 lakh were culled after the outbreak. Several persons were quarantined on suspicions that they may have contracted the disease. However, the last of the 12 persons admitted to the Nawapur civil hospital's isolation ward was discharged earlier this month. "We are monitoring the situation. About 500 workers involved in a clean-up operation in the town are under observation," said state health director P Doke. The clean-up operation in Nawapur, which involved disposing of tonnes of bird feed and bird droppings, is still under way. Poultry owners are also engaged in disinfecting drippers, water tanks and feeding systems, said animal husbandry commissioner Bijay Kumar. He added that bird samples from Aurangabad, Hingoli and Ahmednagar had also tested negative for the presence of avian influenza in the Bhopal laboratory. A small number of chickens from these towns had died last month, raising fears that bird flu had spread to other parts of Maharashtra. Results of samples from Jalgaon are still awaited. Meanwhile, none of the 52 poultry farms and hatcheries from Nawapur have replied to showcause notices issued by district collector Jayant Gaikwad for not reporting chicken deaths initially. The government had issued notices to the poultry farm owners, who were accused of covering up bird deaths on their farms. |