BIRD FLU-CONTROL MEASURES,STATUS OF BIRD FLU IN INDIA & ECONOMIC IMPACT IN INDIA

January 11, 2021

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BIRD FLU-CONTROL MEASURES,STATUS OF BIRD FLU IN INDIA & ECONOMIC IMPACT IN INDIA

Compiled & Edited by-DR RAJESH KUMAR SINGH ,JAMSHEDPUR, JHARKHAND,INDIA 9431309542,rajeshsinghvet@gmail.com

Avian Influenza is a highly contagious and infectious disease of poultry with ability to transmit to humans and cause potential disease. Several species of food producing birds (chicken, turkey, quail, guinea fowl, etc.), as well as pet birds and wild birds are susceptible to infection. This is also an economically important disease causing a heavy loss to poultry production worldwide.

Classification:

The Avian Influenza is of two types based on the virus ability to cause disease (pathogenicity).

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus spreads rapidly, may cause serious disease and result in high mortality rates (up to 100% within 48 hours).
The low pathogenic avian influenza (lPAI) can causes mild disease that may be undetected or no symptoms at all in some species of birds.

Transmission of disease:

Water birds like ducks, geese and other migratory birds offers a potential source of infection.
Infected wild birds and poultry can transmit the virus to susceptible poultry and humans through contaminated poultry products like eggs, feeders, waterers, feed and feed bags, secretions, excretions or carcasses etc.
The winter months are particularly favorable to its spread. With concentrated efforts, HPAI virus has effectively brought under control, LPAI is still prevailing by circulating in birds, thereby becoming endemic in India. Since lPNAI has never been reported in India before, it is considered to be greater hazard than HP AI in India. lPNAl can transmit via products of poultry and animal origin and pose potentiality for adverse consequences specially when complemented with ND virus, if the disease agents become established in Indian commercial and backyard poultry.

Clinical signs in poultry:

Respiratory signs: Ocular and nasal discharges, coughing, sneezing and dyspnoea, swelling of the sinuses anellor head and apathy,
Gross signs; Reduced vocalisation, marked reduction in feed and water intake, cyanosis of the unfeathered skin, wattles and comb, whitish or greenish diarrhea.
Nervous signs: Incoordination, torticollis (twisting of head)
In laying birds: clinical features include a marked drop in egg production, usually accompanied by an increase in numbers of poor quality eggs. Typically, high morbidity is accompanied by high and rapidly escalating unexplained mortality. Generally, 100% mortality occurs within 48 hours.

Differential Diagnosis:

Newcastle disease, Infectious coryza and other respiratory diseases.

Outbreaks in India:

First outbreak was recorded in February 2006 in Maharashtra and Gujarat and then till date around 18 outbreaks were reported in India with most frequency in NE and adjoining areas. West Bengal and North Eastern states are highly vulnerable to avian influenza out breaks in the country. Recently outbreak of Bird flu or Avian influenza outbreak has been reported from four states in the country, which have reported confirmed cases of the disease, with some districts of Kerala culling birds to stop the spread of the virus.

These states are — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, and Haryana.Few other states, including Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, also witnessed unusual deaths of poultry, crows and migratory birds. The Centre has asked local authorities to boost surveillance around water bodies, live bird markets, zoos and poultry farms. So far, there are no cases of its transmission into humans, as per reports. The human-to-human transfer of avian influenza is ‘very rare’ and it has no connection with the novel coronavirus.However, those working in the poultry farms should take necessary precautions like wearing PPE kits while working in the farm.

The current bird flu outbreak comes barely a few months after India on 30 September last year declared the country free from the disease.

Control of avian influenza in India during out breaks (Government of India Guidelines)

There is no vaccination policy for avian influenza in India, the on ly control method adopted is stamping out policy in which all the poultry will be culled in O-5 km diameter from the point of outbreak (epicentre) followed by disinfection. Culling is done either by burning or underground disposal. GOl has framed specific guidelines to manage the emergency outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza and they are as follows

An extensive information, education campaign (IEC) in the area to be undertaken by means of news, paper advertisement, radio/TV announcement/programme, leaflet, handbill, milking and conducting meetings with panchayat system ete. to familiarize the all the population on the perceived threat of Avian influenza and the precautions that should be taken to prevent its spread.
Extensive field surveillance to detect any mortality in crows and other wild birds, and for’ unusual mortality in poultry birds.
No post-mortem examination of dead birds in the field must be attempted and refer those to the nearest designated Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory.
Incineration of dead poultry, crows and other wild birds to contain the virus spread.
Dead birds should not be handled directly and must wear gloves prior to handling and must wash hands thoroughly after.
Extensive surveillance of forest areas to detect any abnormal mortality of wild birds must be undertaken.

On farm Biosecurity measures

Foot dips with powerful and long retention time disinfectants at the entries and exits of all the pens of poultry farms.
No multiple species must be reared on the same premises.
Disinfection or cleaning up the farm premises regularly.
Use of protective guards for handling of any suspected birds/material.
Periodic testing of poultry feed and water.
Knowing the signs of disease
Proper disposal of wastes and manures /dead birds
Discourage rearing of birds of different age groups on the same farm. Encourage all in all out practice. • Inter-sectional movements of farm personnel should be restricted.
Movement restriction of poultry and poultry products, farm equipmcnts and machinery from and to suspected/infected area.
Immediate reporting of unusual deaths of poultry, crows and other wild birds veterinary officials immediately.
Maintain the strict vigilance of any mortality or sickness in wild and domestic birds.
Thorough washing of hand and hairs with soap and water.
Intensive surveillance at live and wet markets must be undertaken by the veterinary. officers in the area. The contact number of officers for immediate reporting should be advertised.

At wet markets

Conversion of open unrecognized and unorganized open wet markets into organized slaughter houses with proper biosecurity measures.
Strict biosecurity of wet markets including daily cleaning and sanitization.
Ensuring of no return of birds from wet markets.
Surveillance of flocks coming to wet markets and tracing back the source of infected birds, if any.
Reporting of incidence of any unusual sickness/mortality in birds to the veterinary authorities immediately.

At border areas

Intensive surveillance in all the bordering districts at access and exit points.
International bordering areas having no fencing should be strengthened to check the movement of poultry and poultry products.
No movement of poultry and poultry products should be allowed across the border during outbreak.
Information, Education and Communication Campaign (lEC) in bordering areas may be undertaken by means. of meetings with panchayat system, newspaper advertisement, radiolTV announcements/programmes and leaflets ete. Target population must be familiarized with avian influenza impact and precautions that should be taken to prevent it and in case any symptoms are noticed to report the same to the concerned authorities without any loss of time.
District level preparedness needs to be assessed and required equipmcnts and chemicals made available in order to tackle any eventuality.
Veterinary officers should undertake special surveillance of the daily/weekly markets in the bordering areas

READ MORE : Overview of Anthrax

As a responsible citizen:

Any unusual and sudden deaths in chicken, crow or even wild birds must be reported immediately to Govt. authorities.
Always follow clean poultry production practices.
ICAR-National Institute for High Security Animal Diseases, Bhopal is the reference laboratory for diagnosis of avian influenza in the country.
The suspected dead bird can be sent directly to this laboratory in chilled conditions for disease confirmation.

ECONOMIC IMPACT ON POULTRY BUSSSINESS-

It is very unfortunate in India that no study has been done to assess the actual economic loses bear by poultry farmers of India aftermath the bird flu scare/rumour or out break news spread by media.

There is no evidence worldwide that any human cases of avian flu have been acquired by eating poultry products (CDC, 2004). To date, there is no epidemiologial information to suggest that the disease can be transmitted through contaminated food or that products shipped from affected areas have been the source of infection in humans (WHO, 2004). The overall impact of avian flu in India could be summarized by pointing that the losers are mainly poultry farmers, input industries, exclusive chicken retail outlets and even consumers, while the probable winners are veterinary professionals, vaccine producers, pig and fish farmers, and traders of other livestock

Therefore, in dealing with such type of incidences, compensation should be adequate and timely so as to ensure better compliance for effective control and surveillance of the disease. Though Govt. of India follows uniform rates across states at present, the study has suggested that it may be fixed as per the prevailing economic conditions of different states as there is much variability in terms of resource endowments, entrpreneurship and scale of operation in less developed states like those in North-Eastern region. The overall impact of such disease outbreaks could be much bigger than observed directly because of indirect losses on input industries, hatcheries, transport sector, hoteling, etc. To mitigate the impact of such disease outbreaks in future, an appropriate insurance mechanism may be developed for the poultry farming in the country. While doing so, not only the flock size, but also the family size of farmers, proportion of income from poultry to total family income, level of nutritional security achieved from family poultry and border status of the state should be taken into consideration. We suggest dissemination of factual information to the general public and consumers under such situations to instill confidence in consuming the dressed chicken, as there is no evidence of virus transmission to humans. Public agencies and press need to be proactive in this aspect.

There is need for an easier, hassle-free and security-less mechanism of credit support to the rural poor. In general, policies towards avian flu outbreak must necessarily involve the rural poor. Surveillance mechanism should be stregthened. In general, farmers need to be educated about the strict hygeinic practices and disinfection procedures to be follwed after every batch is replaced in their farm premises.

Status of Avian Influenza in India

Avian influenza (AI) virus has been circulating worldwide for centuries with four known outbreaks recorded in the last century. The present wave of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) emerged in Hong Kong in 1997. In view of a threat of global outbreak of AI and apprehensions of a human pandemic, the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries (DADF), Government of India had prepared an Action Plan in 2005 itself (well before the first outbreak in the country) for prevention, control and containment of Avian Influenza.

India remained free from Avian Influenza till mid-February 2006.

Past Major Outbreaks of Avian Influenza in India

India experienced the first Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1) outbreak in the State of Maharashtra and Gujarat on 18^th February, 2015 followed by second outbreak in Madhya Pradesh during March, 2006.

A total of 10.44 lakh birds were culled during control and containment operations undertaken. After successful completion of operations, country regained freedom from the disease in August 2006.

The third outbreak of Avian Influenza occurred during July 2007 in a small poultry farm at Chingmeirong in East Imphal district of Manipur. The outbreak was controlled immediately without any further spread to the neighboring areas. A total of

3.39 lakh birds were culled. India achieved freedom from the disease on 7^thNovember, 2007.

The fourth outbreak of Avian Influenza in the country was confirmed in Birbhum and Dakshin Dinajpur districts of West Bengal on 15.01.2008. Subsequently, the disease spread to 13 more districts of the State, viz., Murshidabad, Burdwan, South-24 Parganas, Nadia, Hooghly, Howrah, Coochbehar, Malda, Paschim Medinapur, Bankura, Purulia, Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling. The outbreak covered 55 blocks and 2 municipalities in 15 districts of West Bengal. A
total of about 42.62 lakh birds had to be culled in the control and containment operations.

Fifth outbreak Avian Influenza was also reported in Salema Block of Dhalai district of Tripura on 7th April 2008. Subsequently, the disease spread to two more blocks viz. Mohanpur and Bishalgarh in West Tripura district. A total of 19 lakh birds had to be culled. After successful control and containment operations, India declared itself free from the disease on 4^th November, 2008.

After a lull of about a month, sixth episode of Avian Influenza was confirmed on 27.11.2008 in Kamrup district of Assam. Subsequently, the disease spread to eight more districts of the State i.e. Kamrup (Metro), Barpeta, Nalbari, Chirang, Dibrugarh, Bongaigaon, Nagaon and Baksa. The outbreak covered 13 blocks and 2 municipalities in 9 districts of Assam. A total of 5.09 birds were culled.

Avian Influenza re-emerged in Englishbazar Block of Malda District of West Bengal (7th outbreak) on 15th December, 2008. Subsequently, the disease spreads to 9 more blocks in 5 districts. A total of 2.01 lakh birds were culled.
The outbreak was also confirmed in Ravongla municipality (8th outbreak) in South Sikkim district in Sikkim and about 4 thousand birds were culled. The control and containment operations were carried out successfully and the country was declared free on 27^th October, 2009.

The ninth outbreak was reported confirmed on 14.01.2010 in Khargram block of Murshidabad district of West Bengal, which spread to adjascent block (Burwan) on 30th January, 2010. A total of 1.56 lakh birds were culled, and 0.18 lakh eggs (approx.). The control and containment operations were carried out successfully and the country was declared free from the disease on 2^nd June, 2010.

Two outbreaks of Avian Influenza one each in Government Duck Farm R.K. Nagar, Agartala on 17.2.2011 and Government Poultry Farm Gandhinagar, Agartala on 6.3.2011 were notified. The outbreaks were limited to the affected farms only. During the operations, 0.21 lakh birds were culled. The control and containment operations were carried out successfully and the country was declared free from the
disease on 4^th July, 2011.

An outbreak was reported in village Bhamondanga Part-1 in Agomoni block in district Dhubri in Assam on 8^th September, 2011 which was controlled and contained in time. Two more outbreaks were reported on 19^th September, 2011 in villages
Nanshatola and Putimari in block Tehatta of District Nadia in West Bengal on 19^thSeptember, 2011. During control and containment operations, 48581 birds were culled. The country was declared free from the disease on 4^th January, 2012.

During 2012, the outbreaks were reported from the states of Odisha (three outbreaks), Meghalaya (one) and Tripura (Three). Another outbreak was notified on 25^th October 2012 at CPDO, Hessarghatta, Bangalore. During control & containment operations, 0.81 lakh birds were culled in Odisha, 0.07 lakh birds in Meghalaya, 0.13 lakh birds in Tripura and 0.33 lakh birds in Karnataka.
During 2013, an outbreak of Avian Influenza was reported from the state of Bihar at epicenter Regional Poultry Farm, Lanka Tola, Madhubani, district Purnea and outbreak was notified on 8^th March, 2013. During the control & containment operations, 0.06 lakh birds were culled and Rs. 2.06 lakh were distributed as compensation. Another outbreak was reported from Chhattisgarh at Durg and Jagdalpur on 5^th August, 2014 where 0.31 lakh birds were culled. Subsequently, the country was declared free from Avian Influenza on 11.11.2013.

During 2014, after a gap of about 14 months since August 2013, outbreaks were reported at six epicenters in Kerala during November-December, 2014 and 2.7 lakh birds were culled. An outbreak in ducks was also reported at Sukhna lake, Chandigarh on 18^th December, 2014 where 110 ducks were culled during control and containment operations.

Another outbreak was reported on 25.01.2015 at Regional Poultry Farm,Kureepuzha in district Kollam of Kerala.

An outbreak of Avian Influenza was reported in Amethi district of Uttar Pradesh on 13^th March, 2015. During control and containment operations, 844 birds were culled.
On 13.04.2015, outbreak was reported from Hayat Nagar district of Telangana where 1.60 lakh birds were culled during operation.

The latest outbreak was reported from Imphal of Manipur State on 18.04.2015. During control and containment operations, about 21 thousand birds were culled.The country was declared free from Avian Influenza on 29.7.2015 after completion of disinfection and Post Operation Surveillance. As part of preparedness, Country wide surveillance is being maintained against the disease.

Till date(2016), the country has experienced 28 episodes of disease in States/one UT. During control and containment operations about 72.46 lakh birds have been culled and about Rs. 24.32 crore has been paid as compensation to the farmers.

Brief Scenario on Outbreaks of Avian Influenza in India

The trend of infection of Avian Influenza has changed. Initially, in India, the disease was being reported mainly in backyard poultry in vicinity of migratory birds/ water bodies particularly in North-Eastern States and West Bengal. The main species affected used to be chicken. The ducks used to be reservoir of the virus,
harbouring the infection without showing the clinical signs/ disease. However, the trend of occurrence of AI changed since 2011, gradually and most of the

occurrences were reported from the poultry farms of central government such as DADF, ICAR and State Governments. Disease also shifted from Northern East to East and southern parts of India such as Odisha, Karnataka and Bihar. Even the wild birds such as crows were not spared, owing to their scavenging nature or due to
direct contacts with migratory birds. Occurrences since November 2014 saw AI in new areas of farthest southern areas and North India and disease shifted predominantly from poultry to ducks. In Kerala, number of ducks had to be culled.

Three major H5N1 virus clades have been found in the country till date. The clade identified from outbreaks reported during 2006-2010 was 2.2. This clade was earlier reported from Mongolia. The clade identified between 2011-2014 was 2.3.2.1-

However, a new clade 2.3.2.1-C has replaced the earlier ones during the outbreaks of late 2014 and 2015. These clades have been reported from Nepal prior to India.

World-wide AI outbreaks- Present situation

Avian influenza is currently rampant throughout the world. Occurrences of Avian Influenza have been reported from least developed countries, developing countries and the developed countries without any discrimination. There are large number of occurrences of AI infection in developed countries such as USA, Germany and UK despite having a higher level of biosecurity and advanced husbandry practices than in developed countries. During 2014, 26 countries reported the outbreaks to World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). The number is even higher during 2015, wherein 39 countries have reported the disease by now.

The virus has been changing its characteristics (clades) very often. Even different sub-types of AI virus have been reported from different parts of the world which were not prevalent earlier. Various new sub-types have emerged.

Migratory birds are considered to be transmitting the infection from one place to distantly placed location. This is evident from the fact that the clades reported from one part of the world have been reported from a different part of the world falling on the route of migratory birds.

Even vaccination has not been of much help in preventing the disease. The countries, who have adopted the immunization approach, have not got much success.

Prevention, Control and Containment of Avian Influenza in the country.

All outbreaks of Avian Influenza are handled as per the guidelines in Action Plan on “Preparedness, Control and Containment of Avian Influenza”. The major activities undertaken for control and containment are: notification of Outbreak to OIE, demarcation of culling and surveillance areas as per Action Plan, launch of
control & containment operations by Rapid Response Teams (RRTs), culling of birds in the culling area, absolute Ban on Movement of Poultry and products from the culling and surveillance zones, disposal of Dead Birds; instant Compensation for Culling, clean-up and Disinfection, Post Operation Surveillance, declaration of Freedom from Disease etc.

Containment operations during outbreaks: Further role of Department

The Department deputed Central observers of the states to help, guide and monitor the control and containment operations. The neighbouring states were informed and alerted for the necessary preventive measures/actions. Ministry of Health was involved in control and containment operations to prevent the ingress of disease to human beings.

A massive Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaign to prevent and contain the disease has been useful in generating public awareness, cooperation, timely reporting of the disease and biosecurity measures to prevent further damages.

Possible reasons for occurrence of Avian Influenza:

A number of factors contribute to make India vulnerable to primary incursion of Avian Influenza into the country. These include high density of poultry population;mixed rearing of chicken and ducks; three flyways of migratory birds passing through the country; illegal movement of poultry and poultry products from infected areas into the country; presence of large number of water-bodies visited by migratory / wild birds; inadequate bio-security in backyard rearing; inadequate sanitation of wholesale and retail poultry markets; endemic situation of Avian Influenza in the neighboring countries and porous nature of the border.

Surveillance and monitoring:

Surveillance of the disease and monitoring of preparedness for prevention and control of avian influenza are constantly emphasised with State Governments. A robust surveillance plan was prepared by the Department based on wider consultations and was implemented from November, 2013. Under Surveillance Plan,
general surveillance in absence of AI outbreak includes passive surveillance which is basically clinical surveillance and active surveillance envisaging collection of samples, both Virological as well serological samples, from poultry for agent and antibody detections and targeted surveillance on wild birds, live birds markets, ducks and water fowls. Intensive surveillance is carried out during AI outbreaks in the designate surveillance zone.

Reports of unusual mortality in poultry and wild birds are constantly reviewed by the department and samples are immediately required to be sent to the concerned Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (RDDL) and NIHSAD, Bhopal for
disease diagnosis. In the event of Avian Influenza outbreak, the concerned State and the adjoining States are alerted immediately. A number of measures have been prescribed by the Department for better preparedness against Avian Influenza.

Strengthening of laboratory infrastructure:

During the course of tackling various episodes of Avian Influenza in the country, non-availability of adequate laboratory infrastructure to handle samples for testing of Avian Influenza emerged as a serious constraint. In order to overcome this
constraint, the Department had taken up the task of systematic strengthening of laboratory infrastructure under a World Bank assisted project, as given below:

(a) To strengthen the diagnosis of Avian Influenza, under World Bank assisted project on Avian Influenza, four pre-fabricated Bio-Safety Level-III (BSL-III) laboratories have been established at Jalandhar, Kolkata, Bangalore and Bareilly. In addition, a
mobile BSL-III laboratory gifted by Japan has been installed at NERDDL, Guwahati.

(b) Department is funding RDDLs for testing of AI & other animal diseases and National institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NISHAD), Bhopal is funded for AI testing as national surveillance programme. It is an apex laboratory on AI testing accredited by OIE.

(c) Out of 23 State Disease Diagnostic Laboratories in 21 States selected for upgradation to BSL-II level, 21 have already been upgraded and are functional. Remaining are at various stages of completion. This will enable these laboratories to handle serum samples for testing Avian Influenza.

ICAR-NIHSAD, National Reference Centre for Animal Influenza

NIV, National reference Centre for Human influenza

Central/Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratories (6 nos.)

Laboratory diagnosis:

Laboratory diagnosis is done for Avian Influenza by

(a) Viral RWA detection by RT-PCR and Real Time RT-PCR

(b) Virus isolation is done in embryonated specific pathogenic free eggs followed
by HA sub-typing using Haemaglutination and Haemaglutination Inhibition
tests, RT-PCR and Real time RT-PCR.

(c) Antibody detection is done by Agar Gel immunodiffusion tests to detect the
presence or absence of antibodies to Influenza A virus infection.

Haemaglutination Inhibition test is done to determine if antibodies indicating Influenza A virus infection are of different subtypes including H5 and H7.Virus isolation is done by NISHAD, Bhopal.

Characterization of Avian Influenza virus:

National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), Bhopal under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi carries out genome sequencing and analysis of the avian influenza viruses isolated from the outbreaks as part of
virus characterization. Sequence analysis of the H5N1 avian influenza viruses isolated from outbreaks during 2006 to 2015 identified four genetic lineages/clades of the virus. Clade 2.2 (Qinghai-like) virus was detected in poultry during 2006 and
2007 outbreaks. Outbreaks during 2008-2010 (in West Bengal, Tripura, Assam and Sikkim) were due to clade 2.2.2.1, whereas clade 2.3.2.1a was identified during in 2011 in states of Tripura, Assam and West Bengal, in 2012 in states of Odisha, Meghalaya, Tripura and Karnataka, in 2013 in states of Bihar and
Chattisgarh. This clade has also been reported in 2015 from states of Telangana and Manipur. However, a new clade 2.3.2.1c was detected during late 2014 till early 2015 in the States of Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Union Territory of Chandigarh.
This new clade (2.3.2.1c) was first reported in the South-Asia region (Nepal) in 2010.

Lessons learnt:

Strategy of rapid diagnosis and culling of birds in the infected area (culling zone) has proved very effective in controlling Avian Influenza in the Country. The robust implementation of Surveillance Plan by States for early detection of viruses at
risk areas such as poultry establishments, wholesale markets (particularly at border areas) retail value chain, wetland, migratory birds nesting places, ducks, water fowls and geese is the most important need for preventing of AI in the country. There is a need for further strengthening and expansion of AI diagnostic infrastructure for timely and accurate diagnosis for rapid control and containment operations.

Cost and benefits of AI control

Direct cost from AI outbreaks occur from death of the birds and the birds culled during AI control and containment operations including costs on account of preparedness such as trained manpower, surveillance, reporting, communication diagnostic infrastructure and implemented costs on control and containment operations etc. cost, are also on account of bio-security and preventive human healthcare also. Cost on payment of compensation on account of the birds culled during AI control and containment operations in the country so far is amounting to Rs. 24.32 Crore. There are indirect costs on account of loss of livelihood, which affects full households in loss of wages, loss of assets and exposure to economic distress, market loss and impact on international trade.

Control measures on AI conversely benefit poultry owners particularly backyard poultry, poultry farm owners, domestic market and international market operations. It prevents risk to human health apart from protection of poultry/poultry products for a regular supply chain in domestic market.

Due to effective control and containment operations in the country, AI is contained almost at source and the country is able to declare itself free on regular intervals. Disease is reported regularly to OIE and correspondence is made to the importing countries of poultry products from India. As a result, there is no interruption in the growth of international trade as well as domestic trade in poultry &
poultry products.

Future Plans

Action Plan on Preparedness, Control and Containment of Avian Influenza would be reviewed and updated time to time based on experiences gained and scientific knowledge. Accordingly, Action Plan has been revised in March 2015 and circulated to States and other stakeholders for
implementation
Surveillance on Avian Influenza (AI) is an ongoing activity and would stress on early detection of AI viruses for a rapid response for Control & Containment Operations under the Action Plan on Avian Influenza. The country has sufficient knowledge and expertise in handling the outbreaks of Avian Influenza. To strengthen the efforts of the Department for early warning and in prevention of disease, a robust surveillance regime has been prescribed. However, this needs to be fine-tuned time to time based on experiences gained and latest international standards so as to enable timely prevention and control of Avian Influenza.

Stress on Surveillance in live birds markets at international border areas, wetlands/water bodies and nesting places of migrated birds with regular surveillance on ducks & geese and waterfowls.
Further strengthening and expanding of laboratory infrastructure for AI testing. For this purpose, laboratories of ICMR such as NIV Pune and other places are proposed to be included in the laboratory network.