‘Bio-security’ measures launched

Around 800 more chickens died on Saturday in a poultry farm reportedly owned by the Rangers. The farm is located adjacent to the one in which Friday’s laboratory test confirmed the outbreak of the H5N1 strain of bird flu. The discovery compelled officials to put nine people, including four Rangers’ personnel under observation, Health officials said.

“The adjacent poultry farm is being monitored, though its laboratory test is expected on Monday,” said Deputy Secretary Health Dr Shakil Mullick.

According to him, teams of doctors have examined over 50 people and no human infection case has so far been detected. Nine poultry workers associated with the adjacent farm are being monitored by doctors twice a day - morning and evening. Three workers of “Uni Poultry Farm” have been kept at the isolation ward of the Civil Hospital, Karachi.

Doctors visited five more poultry farms on Saturday and examined over 20 workers. However, nothing unusual was found.

Health Officer (Gadap Town) Khalil Ansari said that the death of more birds at the adjacent farm has given rise to the suspicion of the existence of bird flu. Hence, he said, they have started spraying there. According to him, the workers have been given masks, gloves, etc. as precautionary measures. Furthermore, three surveillance teams have been formed, which are visiting the farms, besides which doctors are also examining the family members of the affected poultry workers. Ansari mentioned that they were facing some resistance at various poultry farms but added that the town administration managed to resolve the matter.

He said that, so far, 2,500 chickens, among 5,000, had died at the adjacent farm.

Dr Rasheed Ahmed Bhutto, a member of the three teams of doctors set up by Provincial Coordination on Bird Flu, told The News that they have started “bio-security” measures to prevent spread of bird flu. They visited around 10 to 12 poultry farms and informed the owners about the bio-security steps, he said, adding that one team of doctors would be regularly visiting the area from Sunday.

Elaborating, he said that the bio-security measures pertain to covering feed and water as well as burying birds and not visiting infected farms. He mentioned that each farm in Dhunba Goth contains around 15,000 to 30,000 chickens.

Provincial Coordinator on Bird Flu, Dr Ali Akbar Soomro, said that they had taken samples from a couple of poultry farms as precautionary measures. According to him, migratory birds, improper management of farms, lack of clean water and polluted feed were the major causes of this outbreak. Safe water could control the outbreak of virus up to 50 per cent and proper nutrients could increase resistance power in birds up to 20-22 per cent, he added.

He, however, dispelled the impression of the existence of bird flu in Hyderabad, Thatta and Badin, adding that reports were sought from the EDOs after hearing the news but all of them rejected the same. —IA

Source:- The News,Pakistan

GE to purchase Whatman for $717M

Published: Tuesday, February 05, 2008
General Electric Co. agreed to buy Whatman Plc, the U.K. maker of DNA-based products for drug research and police laboratories, for 363 million pounds ($717 million) to gain filters and equipment for its health-care business.

Investors in London-based Whatman will get 270 pence a share, Fairfield, Conn.-based GE said Monday in a statement. That's 12 percent more than Whatman's closing price on Feb. 1, the last trading day before Monday's announcement, and 31 per cent more than the closing price on Jan. 14, the day before Whatman announced it had been approached as a target.




Source: The Calgary Herald
02/06/08