# 1633
Blaming it on `poor coordination between farmers and the government', authorities are admitting that infected poultry that either died from the H5N1 virus, or were culled, were not properly disposed of (burned and buried) in Karachi, and that wild birds apparently feasted on their remains.
Now crows and other wild birds in the area are dying, raising fears that the bird flu virus has been disseminated into the wild bird population.
This from Pakistan's Dawn.
KARACHI: Dead crows spark fears of bird flu spread
By Mukhtar Alam
KARACHI, Feb 8: Reports of unusual deaths of crows close to the two poultry farms in Gadap Town hit by the bird flu virus have sparked fears that the disease may have spread to other birds.
The poultry authorities had declared Uni farm and the Rangers’ farm in Gadap affected and infected with the dreaded avian influenza (H5N1 strain).
Poultry sources said that the phenomena of swooping down of crows and a few other wild bird species, though limited, was being watched carefully by the human and wildlife health authorities concerned as there were chances that the dead birds had come into contact with the infected poultry in the area during the last few days.
“If any transmission of the avian influenza (AI) virus to crows and black kites is taking place in the area, then the spread of the deadly virus to others – both humans and animals – in Gadap and other areas could hardly be checked and as such, a mutation could be seen in a form that spreads easily amongst people, which could potentially spark a pandemic,” warned another source.
“It was the poor coordination between different government authorities and the farmers that the infected birds, which were declared AI affected about a week after their deaths, could not be disposed of in a scientific manner or buried underground. In time this provided an opportunity to wild birds to feast upon their carrion, along with the viruses,” said an expert.
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‘Workers doing well’
He added that the Ranger’s personnel who were engaged in farming in Gadap were also being checked at regular intervals and none of them had shown any adverse symptoms so far.
Furthermore, a senior official at the Civil Hospital Karachi said that three workers of Uni farm, who were admitted to the hospital last Friday, were also doing well in the isolation ward. He said that results of the samples taken from the workers in question were likely to be received from NIH Islamabad on Monday, following which the workers could be sent home if there was nothing objectionable in the report.
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