# 1059
While India has had a few outbreaks of the H5N1 virus, when compared to some of its neighbors, India has remained remarkably unscathed. Exactly how long their luck can hold is something they worry about.
INTERVIEW - "Uncontrolled" bird flu in region worries India
Tue Aug 14, 2007 3:37PM
By Kamil Zaheer
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India is intensifying preparations to deal with avian influenza as it borders countries with "uncontrolled outbreaks" in poultry and is also close to nations with human cases, its top health official said.
Central Health Secretary Naresh Dayal referred to Myanmar and Bangladesh -- which have seen several outbreaks in poultry this year and share a long border with India's remote northeast.
"We are surrounded by countries with uncontrolled outbreaks in poultry and birds," Dayal told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. "And further, there is Vietnam and Indonesia."
Indonesia and Vietnam -- both within a couple of hours flying distance from some Indian cities -- have reported human deaths from bird flu this year.
Indonesia says it has 83 confirmed bird flu deaths since 2003, the highest for any nation.
"Worldwide, human-to-human transmission is feared. We have to be able to tackle that if, God forbid, it starts," Dayal said.
Globally, there have been more than 300 confirmed human cases of bird flu since 2003 due to the H5N1 strain and nearly 200 deaths, according to the World Health Organisation.
The H5N1 virus remains mainly a disease affecting birds, but experts worry it may mutate into a form easily transmitted from person to person.
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