|
|
Opinion & Comment: I T I S N E I T H E R W I E R D N O R P E R P L E X I N G
Posted by: agrilive on Feb 10, 2004 - 01:02 PM
Information
|
Dr. M. Sayedain Jaffery
We are at present caught up in seemingly quite a perplexing situation regarding the Avian Influenza or Bird Flu that it is commonly called. Lots of information or misinformation has appeared and is appearing in print as well as electronic media and just everyone is trying to out-do the other in discussing the otherwise sensitive issue, that ought not have been discussed on international stage. Someone has even reported some fatality in children due to this disease. It is feared that the out-come might take an ugly turn with damaging ramifications for the country, if this free for all approach and unauthenticated reports are not regulated now.
It is quite paradoxical that the disease Bird Flu has taken the people by storm as if it were something out of the ordinary. The disease, as the name indicates is specific for the Poultry. but the causative agent is very unstable and has the potential to jump the species barrier and emerge in other animal or even the man. Yet for avian influenza to become human influenza is not so simple because it has to go through complex processes of genetic re-assortment..
The virus was first isolated in Italy in late 19th century and has survived ever since in low profile in almost every country with occasional episodes of outbreak of acute disease resulting in heavy losses in chicken farming sector. In Pakistan the disease was first identified in present shape in 1994 but no commotion occurred in general public. Because it is not easily possible to eradicate a virus once it gets entrenched in the environment, the disease keeps on and will keep on showing up, at times in serious form. Fortunately however, during all these years when the influenza virus has been prevalent in our macrocosm, it remained confined only to chicken and did not cross the line to infect Man. In future also it might not cause serious problem for Public Health if conscious efforts are launched and persistently enforced to improve health of Poultry flocks & hygiene at Poultry Farms, through rigid quarantine and bio-Security measures. If however, the conditions are left unattended, may be during next winter, we might face a situation even worse than what we are going through today.
In order to plan & execute effective long-term strategy to contain infectious diseases, a country-wide epizootiological investigation is urgently needed to obtain correct picture of what we have in our microbiological ecology. Because of its importance to human beings, may be, for next winter, the authorities in the Public Health and Veterinary sectors shall have to plan and exercise well-coordinated vigilance to pre-empt the occurrence of out-breaks of Bird Flu and monitor the possibility of human involvement.
It would be of interest to referrer, in relevance to Bird Flu, which has acquired world-wide notoriety, to few other infectious diseases of chicken, that never raised suspicion as being transferable to the consumer of Poultry products.
There is a dread full disease called Cholera which occurs both in men and chicken. But Fowl Cholera is entirely different from Human Cholera and the two are not mutually inter-transferable. Similarly there is Pox in chicken and children. but Chicken Pox cannot infect the chicken while Fowl Pox cannot cause disease in the man. Interesting, isn't it??
Similarly Avian, (Bird) Influenza is also different from Human Influenza, except that its causative agent is highly unstable and is capable of playing delinquent under some special circumstances and acquiring the potential to enter into any host, including Man. How & when this might happen is extremely rare & conditional, otherwise the whole world would have suffered from pandemics of influenza.
Influenza at present is prevalent in Poultry of many countries including the USA, where stringent measures are being taken to contain and if possible eradicate it, but there is no panic. How the infection took few human lives in Far East, is being investigated by the WHO & FAO agencies of the United Nations. Their findings would be of great help.
The alarm that somehow got created in our country is uncalled for, since if the virus was so easily transferable to man, the first casualty would have been the Poultry Farmer and his helper in Poultry Pens, who works in an environment saturated with dust of bird droppings, farm manure and dried up secretions, tissues and offals of dead birds, the items which are loaded with virus. But no one working in the Farms has ever caught the disease anywhere so far, nor anyone will, if large holes are not left in the farm Husbandry regime.
A consumer, not only to allay his fears of influenza, but also to obtain clean, wholesome and healthy meat, should concentrate his preference on standards of hygiene prevalent in the system under which birds are slaughtered & dressed at retail out-lets.
Dr. M.Sayedain
Jaffery
President Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council (1996
2002)
D-6, Hassan Square,
Karachi-75300
phone:4982411
DR KHALID MAHMOOD SHOUQ
D.V.M (U.A.F)
EDITOR
PAKISSAN.COM
http://www.masterytv.biz/agrilive
khalidshouq@pakissan.com
agrolive@icqmail.com
ICQ NO 20289876
http://www.freegb.net/readbook.cgi?24311
392-A,SAMANABAD FAISALABAD PAKISTAN-38070
TEL.0092 41 665392FAX.0092 41 6653920
CELLULAR.92 300 6620616 0303 6711581-82
|
|
|
