Ahmedabad Pronounced Safe with Nil Bird Flu Cases

Gujarat Health Minister Ashok Bhatt has confirmed the absence of bird-flu cases in Gujarat. Preliminary investigation of a person suspected of bird-flu also yielded negative results.

Kadar Murghiwala, a poultry dealer in Jamalpur, took ill after 200 chickens under his care died. Suspecting a possible bird-flu infection following complaints of fever, he was admitted to a hospital here and kept in an isolation ward. The symptoms of bird-flu as listed by the WHO, has not been evident in the diagnosis of Mr. Kadar. Mr. Kadar’s blood samples have been sent to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases, New Delhi and the National Institute of Virology, Pune. Results are awaited. A door to door survey was also effected, and of the 1,450 samples collected, it was observed that only three had fever.