No Human Case Of Bird Flu In Odisha: Health Minister

A day after announcing detection of two human cases of bird flu in Odisha's Puri district, health minister Mukesh Mahaling has clarified that there is no confirmed case in the state. He also said that micro and ground level action plans were being taken to control the spread of avian flu.

Bhubaneswar: Odisha health minister Mukesh Mahaling has said that samples of suspected human case of bird flu have been tested negative.

Yesterday, the state government had announced that two human cases of bird flu have been detected in Odisha's Puri district but it made a U-turn, saying no human case of bird flu has been confirmed in the state as the samples collected from the two persons have turned out to be negative for H5N1.

Advising people not to panic about bird flu, Mahaling said that samples collected from suspected human case of bird flu have come out to be negative. Presently, there is no human case of bird flu in the state, he clarified.

On Tuesday, a patient undergoing treatment at Manalpur CHC in Puri district was suffering from fever and his blood sample was sent for testing, which came negative for H5N1.

Earlier, the state government had confirmed detection of bird flu cases in Satyabadi and Pipli blocks of Puri district after samples from the two areas were tested positive for avian influenza at the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) in Bhopal.

The micro and ground level action plans are in place to contain the spread of bird flu in the state, the health minister said. Culling of the infected birds and surveillance of the affected areas are already underway as per the protocols of avian influenza containment, officials said.

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