Bird flu lands in another Bengal district

Four days after the Union Government declared the outbreak, lack of trained men, local resistance and a bunch of unwilling health workers combined to create a deadly situation.

While the culling of domestic and poultry birds falling far short of the target again, the influx of migratory birds was posing a new threat. Migratory birds in their thousands have flocked to Rampurhat, the epicentre of the outbreak this year. More are pouring in everyday. The authorities here decided to cull the migratory birds, too, but are yet to devise a way to do so.

8220;What can we do if we do not have equipment.We were told to set up two isolation wards and we did that. But the required number of qualified doctors who could tackle such situations is far short of the target. We need more doctors immediately,8221; said Sunil Kumar Bhowmik, Chief Medical Officer of Birbhum.

At the PHC in Margram, the solitary nurse on duty and the pharmacist had no clue what to do. 8220;Everyday, 80 to 90 people come to the OPD with fever and cold symptoms. We have not been told what to do. So we give them medicines and tell them to go home,8221; said nurse Daharani Das.

Only 12 doctors are working in the affected area, which comprises various blocks of Rampurhat sub-division. The doctors spend only a few hours at the control room and are busy providing Tamiflu tablets to those engaged in culling as well as the health survey workers. None of them have visited the villages.

A Reality Check

8226; The WHO guideline specifies creation of a containment zone immediately after the outbreak is reported. A perimeter control providing treatment to suspected cases and isolation of the cases inside a quarantine area are to be ensured.

At ground zero, while the authorities planned culling in a 5-km radius with Margram as the epicentre, no steps were taken to put up perimeter control in the affected area. No check on the movement of people is being done, especially those leaving the area.

8226; WHO specifies immediate health survey of the people

The Government has set up 50 teams of three persons each to conduct door-to-door health surveys and identify if any human being has been affected. But those carrying out the survey are mostly school dropouts and members of local youth clubs who have no medical experience. Each team was told to cover 100 houses per day, an impossible figure. The volunteers were supposed to check the medical conditions of the villagers, including fever over 38 degree Centigrade and fill up a form. They were promised Rs 120 per day, but none has been paid yet.

8226; WHO specifies Isolation wards

Two isolation wards have been opened, one each at Rampurhat sub-divisional hospital and Bosua Block primary health centre. In Rampurhat, the beds were in a separate room, but in Bosua not even a separate room could be allotted. At both the places, only four beds were earmarked as 8220;isolation ward beds8221;. There is no specialised doctor, no equipment like ventilators, nor a quarantine zone. In Bosua Block, records showed that daily around 150 people are enrolled at the outpatients department with fever and cold symptoms.