Isolation Wards Readied in Bangladesh
Recombinomics Commentary 17:27
February 2, 2008
The H5N1 strain has now spread to 34 out of Bangladesh's 64 districts, forcing police and livestock officials to slaughter 35,000 chickens in the past three days alone, officials said.
The government in Dhaka ordered major hospitals to set up isolation units to treat bird flu suspects.
"We've taken blood samples of 837 people and none have been found positive. We've also confined several people in their homes, while more than a thousand are under our watch," government spokesman Mahmudur Rahman said.
Health officials investigating bird flu cases called the situation "alarming" and getting worse every day.
The above comments describe a worsening situation in Bangladesh. The number of districts with confirmed H5N1 has risen dramatically in recent days (see satellite map here and here).
Although West Bengal media reports have emphasized the ending of their culling program, the lack of reported spread there is closely linked to the lack of testing. In addition to the spread in West Bengal, H5N1 was just confirmed in southern Pakistan near Karachi, and excessive deaths in multiple locations in India are being investigated.
Pakistan has also readied isolation wards in the Karachi area, and three farm workers are in isolation. Recent human cases in northern Pakistan have heightened concerns regarding human cases, including those that do not progress to pneumonia.
More detail on hospitalized patients and spread of H5N1 to new districts would be useful.
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