Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, Shahid Iqbal Choudhary reviewed the measures in place for detecting cases and prevention of Avian Influenza / Bird Flu, in a meeting of departments convened to further strengthen the response mechanism.A detailed presentation was made by Dr Salim Khan, Head, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Government Medical College, Srinagar about the prevalence, signs and symptoms , risk factors, reporting mechanism, control and containment among other measures. Dr Rabanie Tariq of SPM department presented on public awareness campaign and Information Education Communication for public outreach.Dr Mohammad Ashraf, Chief Animal Husbandry Officer briefed the meeting about daily surveillance and monitoring efforts, containment measures and sampling of suspect cases as well as special measures in migratory bird habitat areas undertaken in coordination with wildlife department.
District Disaster Management Officer Ishfaq Khan briefed that an amount of Rs 10 Lakh has been approved to augment the efforts of departments for containment, surveillance and prevention measures as well as awareness.Municipal Veterinary Health Officer Dr Javed shred about sanitisation efforts and preparedness.The meeting discussed about emergency response mechanism in case of detection of cases or outbreak , robust preventive mechanism, public awareness, compensation mechanism and capacity building of poultry farmers. It was decided that a workshop of poultry farmers will be organised to spread awareness about preventive measures and bio security measures both on-farm and processing.Presently departmental teams are conducting surveillance and daily reports including tests conducted are shared with District Disaster Management Authority. Meanwhile Institute of Animal Health and Biological Products, Zakura is conducting thorough testing and screening. Till date no case of bird flu has been detected in domestic poultry however few cases were reported in wild / migratory birds in the district.