January 24, 2008

New labs to be built in India to combat bird flu
 

India will build several new laboratories in an effort to combat virus testing delays and to incite faster public health responses.

India's animal husbandry commissioner, Santanu Kumar Bandyopadhyay, told Reuters on Tuesday (January 22, 2008) that it had been decided that several new laboratories will be built in view of the current bird flu situation and that things are moving quickly.

The bird flu is threatening to get out of control, but India's only laboratory specialising in bird flu testing has more samples than it could handle.

The High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in the central city of Bhopal, receive hundreds of dead bird samples every week.

While the laboratory clears the backlog, veterinary workers at potentially infected areas wait for the signal to begin culling poultry, often running the risk of the virus spreading.

Officials said new laboratories and research facilities are crucial in view of the rapid spread of the bird flu in West Bengal. At least six laboratories will be of biosafety level-3 (BSL-3) or with clinical and diagnostic facilities that work with potentially fatal agents.

Bandyopadhyay said the new laboratories will supplement the efforts of the Bhopal laboratory and they will be capable of handling emergencies arising from the bird flu.

India's latest bird flu outbreak in poultry has killed thousands of birds in West Bengal where there is now an extensive culling operation. 

Bird flu has spread to seven districts in West Bengal and bird deaths are being reported from new areas every day.

The World Health Organisation had said this is the worst outbreak of bird flu in India.