Poultry farms to be monitored for bird flu outbreak

ISLAMABAD:
The government is making a plan to register all poultry farms to have proper monitoring system to check any outbreak of bird flu in the country. Executive Director National Institute of Health (NIH) Maj. Gen. (R) Masood Anwar said addressing the participants of media retreat on 'Bird Flu Prevention and Control' jointly organized by National Institute of Health (NIH), Ministry of Health and UNICEF. He said proper surveillance system is a must to proper monitoring the bird flu situation as chances of human cases are high in the country due to lack of awareness. Maj. Gen (R) Masood said those affiliated with poultry farm industry should follow guidelines disseminates by the Ministry of Health and Livestock from time to time to prevent people from bird flu virus. He said due to inadequate preventive measures adopted by the workers of poultry farms besides human being other animals including dogs and cats may also acquire this virus which can further spread to others. He said effective media campaign is essential to create awareness among masses about the disease and its prevention. He added citizens should also regular check their pet animals which may also a major source for spread of bird flu. Incharge Epidemic Investigation Cell, NIH, Dr. Jaleel Kamran apprised that after the recent outbreak of bird f"