Two suspected human cases of bird flu have been detected at Mangalpur Community Health Centre (CHC) in Odisha’s Puri district, raising the fear of spread of the disease in the locality and beyond. Samples of the suspected cases were sent to Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC) Bhubaneswar for tests. Only after the results, any confirmation can be shared, the state health and family welfare department said on Wednesday.
Bird-to-human transmission is rare and it can happen in case of persons who are in contact with live birds, said Dr Pragyan Routray. Odisha state public health director Nilakanta Mishra said that two suspected cases with symptoms have been detected. However, it cannot be said that they are positive.
Their samples have been sent to RMRC and Pune Virology Centre. There is no need to panic as of now. The health department will present necessary facts after the RMRC report comes, said Mishra.
Bird Flu or H5N1 was recently detected in the chicken farms in two blocks (Pipili and Satyabadi) of Puri district by the National Institute of High Security Animal Disease. Following this, a mass culling of chickens has been underway in the infected pockets for the past couple of days. Earlier, health minister Mukesh Mahaling said, “Our department is fully prepared, with health workers conducting door-to-door awareness campaigns and distributing Tamiflu medicine to those in need.
N95 masks are also being distributed as part of the containment strategy." The minister fur.
