The Hindu Business Line : Bird flu threat

COMING MONTHS AFTER the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic hit some of the Asian economies, the avian influenza, a highly pathogenic virus is currently spreading at unprecedented speed across Asia. It is posing a serious threat to human health around the world and could prove a disaster for the region's agricultural production, if not checked soon. At last count, bird flu had hit at least eight Asian countries, some of which have a burgeoning cross-border trade in meat. Pakistan, is the latest to report avian influenza, after Thailand, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan.

International agencies such as UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), World Health Organisation and World Organisation for Animal Health have all warned that the so-called bird flu can evolve into a dangerous human pathogen. The highly pathogenic avian influenza is a threat to public health because if it circulates long enough in humans and farm animals, there is an increased risk that it may evolve into a pandemic influenza strain, which could cause disease worldwide, according to experts. While the full economic implications of the flu menace are yet to be ascertained, further spread of the disease could warrant trade embargoes and trigger travel advisories, with consequent impact not only on foreign trade but also on travel and tourism. The sudden concern within India is, therefore, quite understandable.

India has a burgeoning poultry sector. It is the second largest egg producer and one of world's top ten broiler producers. The Rs 22,000 crore industry supports the livelihood of 20 lakh people. Although experts here have discounted the possibility of bird flu entering the country — there are restrictions on import of birds and cattle — laxity could prove dangerous because of the possibility of clandestine imports. Without intending to sound alarmist, it must be stated that firewalls need to be built to ensure that the disease does not enter the country. On its part, the Centre has moved swiftly in alerting State governments to closely monitor the situation and set into motion a process to detect, isolate and eliminate the problem. The high alert issued to the medical fraternity is timely. It is absolutely necessary to ban the movement of poultry into the country from all our neighbours, including Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and others. But India's borders with these countries have been porous at the best of times and are not adequately equipped to detect and debar illegal imports. The Government has to therefore go beyond mere executive fiats. It needs to set up an effective system of surveillance to ensure the health of domestic poultry.

The government owes a duty to consumers to ensure that safe food is made available in the market. Interestingly, there are growing public health concerns even in the US following the detection of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, also known as mad cow disease). In the matter of safeguarding consumer interest, there is much for Asian countries, including India, to learn from the US. The existing multiple firewalls in the US are being further strengthened to bolster the safeguard methods. The FAO's call for a broad collaboration among countries to contain the avian influenza is timely and deserves to be respected.

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