The sources said that all possible steps would be taken at the proposed zones to prevent the virus and diseases. The main focus will be on disposal of birds, restriction of wild birds and visitors, disinfection of vehicles, proper vaccination techniques, use of anti-viral spray and maintenance of health environment. Moreover, the sources said that there were no rules and regulations for registration of poultry farms though in the past there was some procedure wherein the Agriculture Development Bank used to grant loans for setting up farms with requirement to produce feasibility report. However, if the number of birds was 100,000 or over, then a feasibility report as well as induction of a doctor was deemed necessary.
Meanwhile, Director Poultry Production and Research Sindh (PPRS), Dr Ali Akbar Soomro has said that upon reaching boiling temperature, avian influenza virus (bird flu) cannot survive in cooked chicken meat and eggs. "The virus is not vertically transferable in eggs," he said. Talking about poultry production in Sindh, Soomro said annual production of commercial lair was seven million, broiler birds 90.95 million while Desi birds was 26.86 million annually. While around 1,770 million commercial eggs are produced every year and production of poultry meat is 97.95 million kilogrammes. The production of 'desi' bird's eggs is 706 million while 'desi' meat is 25.29 million kilogrammes. Furthermore, the per capita availability of commercial eggs per year is 58 while a 'desi' egg is 32. Similarly, the per capita availability of commercial meat is 3.25 kg and desi meat was 0.841 grams, Soomro elaborated.
Moreover, there are around seven hatcheries in the province with over 3,500 commercial poultry farms. The number of poultry handlers can be six at a poultry farm where around 5,000 to 10,000 birds are kept, he added.
Explaining possible causes of bird flu, Soomro said that mostly migratory birds carried the virus. When they enter Sindh during cold season through Thar, many of them die after drinking contaminated water of wells there. But others land on canals, ponds, lakes etc and spread diseases. "It can be controlled through vaccination programme and farm management," he suggested. Giving details of the virus, he said there are 16 strains of bird flu but H7, H9 and H5N1 are the most active strains. The PPRS had set up 'pathology division', which regularly takes three types of samples namely blood, swab and tissue for further diagnosis.
Tracing the history of the PPRS, Soomro said it was established in 1970 and was aimed at "augmenting the family income of rural and commercial poultry by improving productivity and increasing the production of rural poultry units, which still contribute substantially to the country's overall production of eggs and poultry meat and arranging training."
So far, they have trained 16 'master trainers', who have been provided necessary kits to conduct regular surveillance of poultry farms, he told The News. Moreover, the institute has set up three laboratories in Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur respectively, while seven teams are engaged in creating awareness against the diseases across the province. They are working in 14 districts and do not have staff in the newly-created nine more districts of the province, Soomro said. However, their areas of concerns are commercial layer farms, commercial broiler farms, backyard poultry and pet birds, where they are stressing for adopting preventive measures, he add