Via the Times of India: India bird flu free, says world body. Excerpt:
India is finally a bird flu free country. The France-based World Organisation of Animal Health (OIE) officially sent the communication to India's department of animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries under the agriculture ministry on November 8.
The organization, an intergovernmental body with 167 countries as members, has also
posted the information on its website for international acceptance of India's status.According to international protocol, the avian influenza-free country status is bestowed if a nation reports no outbreak of bird flu for a stretch of three months from the time it completes disinfection and clean-up of the previous outbreak site.
India, which reported a fresh outbreak of bird flu in a small poultry farm located at Chingmeirong in Manipur's east district on July 25, 2007, followed the procedure of disinfection and containment, as laid by international standards. By August 10, 3.36 lakh [336,000] birds had been culled, 28,000 eggs destroyed and 131 metric tonnes of poultry feed burnt.
This is a respite, not a reprieve. I hope the Indian government redoubles its efforts to find and smother H5N1 outbreaks in the next couple of months—especially in Manipur.
