Bhubaneswar: First suspected bird flu case has been reported from Puri district and the sample of the suspect person has been sent to laboratory for testing, Public Health Director Nilakantha Mishra said today.
The suspected case has been detected at Mangalpur community health centre (CHC) in Puri district and the sample was sent to National Institute of Virology, Pune for testing, he said. The test report will come in the next seven days, the director informed.
Though bird-to-human transmission is rare, it can happen in case of people in direct contact with live birds, health officials said.
Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling said the health department is on full alert and strengthening its surveillance system in the Pipili and Satyabadi blocks of Puri district.
First layer of surveillance has been put in place within a 1 km radius while another layer of surveillance is there from 1 km to 10 km, he said.
Stating his department is fully prepared for the arising situation, Mahaling said Asha workers have been engaged to conduct door-to-door awareness campaigns and distribute N95 masks and Tamiflu medicine to those in need.
The government remains vigilant, with close coordination between the health and animal husbandry departments. So far, nearly about 25,000 birds have been culled in the area, he added.