Kolkata: West Bengal currently has no bird flu case and the state government has formed a team to evaluate the evaluation in the state, a senior official said on Tuesday.
The state has already conducted a screening of around 29,000 birds from Kaliachak in Malda district, he said.
A four-year-old girl from the district was diagnosed with the disease in January and recovered after treatment, the official told PTI.
A team comprising senior officials of the health department and a couple of representatives of the World Health Organisation (WHO) was constituted for another round of evaluation of the situation in the state, he added.
The team will reach Malda on Thursday.
“There is not a single bird flu case in West Bengal now. The only case was reported in January in Kaliachak in Malda district when a four-year-old girl was diagnosed with the disease. She is fine now and we are keeping a watch on her health,” the health department official said.
“After that, we screened around 29,000 birds from that area of the district and not a single case was found,” he said.
The official said that the girl belonged to a family that had a poultry farm at their residence, which could be the source of the H9N2 virus getting into her system.
“We conducted a thorough check-up of each of the family members of the girl, but none was diagnosed with the virus,” he said.
The H9N2 bird flu virus is a subtype of the avian influenza virus which spreads through direct contact with infectious animals or indirect interaction with contaminated environments.
“The team will be reaching Malda tomorrow. They will file a report after conducting a review of the situation there. Depending on it, the next step will be decided,” the official said
A team comprising senior officials of the health department and a couple of representatives of the World Health Organisation (WHO) was constituted for another round of evaluation of the situation in the state, he added. Health News Health News: Latest News from Health Care, Mental Health, Weight Loss, Disease, Nutrition, Healthcare
