KARACHI, Feb 8: Reports of unusual deaths of crows close to the two poultry farms in Gadap Town hit by the bird flu virus have sparked fears that the disease may have spread to other birds.

The poultry authorities had declared Uni farm and the Rangers’ farm in Gadap affected and infected with the dreaded avian influenza (H5N1 strain).

Poultry sources said that the phenomena of swooping down of crows and a few other wild bird species, though limited, was being watched carefully by the human and wildlife health authorities concerned as there were chances that the dead birds had come into contact with the infected poultry in the area during the last few days.

“If any transmission of the avian influenza (AI) virus to crows and black kites is taking place in the area, then the spread of the deadly virus to others – both humans and animals – in Gadap and other areas could hardly be checked and as such, a mutation could be seen in a form that spreads easily amongst people, which could potentially spark a pandemic,” warned another source.

“It was the poor coordination between different government authorities and the farmers that the infected birds, which were declared AI affected about a week after their deaths, could not be disposed of in a scientific manner or buried underground. In time this provided an opportunity to wild birds to feast upon their carrion, along with the viruses,” said an expert.

About two years ago, a number of samples were taken from wild birds in Islamabad in a situation similar to Karachi; 50 per cent of the samples were found AI- positive, recalled a health practitioner.

While confirming the development, Dr Shakeel Mullick of the Sindh Health Department said that the high-ups in the government had also been informed of the situation, but in the meantime he would advise people in the area not to come into contact with the dead birds and also to ensure that other animals like cats and dogs did not eat these birds. “The best way to cope with the problem is to bury the dead birds at the first instance,” he added.

The Sindh Government’s Director Poultry Dr Ali Akbar Soomro said that some random samplings had been done in the Gadap area and lab testing had been initiated at the laboratory of the livestock department in Karachi.

“If needed, we would also pass on the samples taken from dead crows to the National Reference Laboratory on poultry diseases at Islamabad for confirmation of various type of viral diseases, including Newcastle and AI,” he added, maintaining that the issue could be taken up at a high-level meeting on Saturday and some joint action plans could be drawn up involving the city government’s poultry department, Sindh’s wildlife department and others.

In the meantime, Dr Khalil Ansari, the Town Health Officer of Gadap, said that surveillance and data collection activities had been increased in the area in the wake of the AI virus’ confirmation in farm birds.

“All the health officers and doctors at various dispensaries located in the town had been asked not to ignore cases belonging to poultry farms and conduct a detailed physical examination of patients with symptoms of pneumonia and suffering from fever,” he said.

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