There is no bird flu among humans in India. All the 95 samples collected from people who had been in contact with infected or dead poultry in Maharashtra and Gujarat or lived within a 3 km range of the infected farms have tested negative for the H5N1 virus.
The tests were done at Pune's National Institute of Virology (NIV) and Delhi's National Institute of Communicable Diseases. The Union health ministry issued a statement saying, "As of now — 7.45 pm on 24.02.2006 — there is no case of human avian influenza".
Meanwhile, a 55-year-old culler and two journalists who were reporting the bird flu outbreak from Navapur are under observation because they developed cough and a sore throat after visiting the infected area.
While the culler is under observation in an isolation ward at the Navapur sub-district hospital, the journalists have been admitted to Sterling Hospital in Ahmedabad. None of them have fever and their chest X-rays are normal, but they will be kept under observation till the possibility of bird flu is completely ruled out.
With the admission of the Navapur culler, the number of people admitted in the isolation ward of the Navapur sub-district hospital has gone up to 14 (10 men, four women). The fourteenth patient is a 60-year-old man from Pangran village. None of the 14 patients have fever and their X-rays are normal.
{{/usCountry}}With the admission of the Navapur culler, the number of people admitted in the isolation ward of the Navapur sub-district hospital has gone up to 14 (10 men, four women). The fourteenth patient is a 60-year-old man from Pangran village. None of the 14 patients have fever and their X-rays are normal.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, the rapid response teams of the health ministry are continuing with house-to-house surveillance to identify symptoms among people who have been in contact with infected poultry.
So far, 30,612 people have been surveyed in Navapur town and another 19,687 in 19 villages within the 3-km radius of the infected farms.
Of the 66 people with symptoms of cough and fever, only one has had contact with poultry and has been hospitalised.
In addition, 92 workers from the infected farms and 90 poultry workers from unaffected farms are under surveillance, though none have any symptoms of flu.
In Gujarat, 10 people with cough are under observation at the Vyaya Community Health Centre. They don't have fever and their X-rays are clear.
Of the 17,106 people surveyed in Gujarat, 39 had fever and 12 had cough and fever; while 48 of the 1,808 people working in infected farms are also under surveillance.