By IANS
New Delhi : The US has offered technical advice and equipment to help India combat the deadly bird flu epidemic that has hit some districts of West Bengal, US ambassador David Mulford said here Monday.
“We are very concerned about the situation from a global standpoint. We have offered some technical advice and equipment to deal with the avian flu,” Mulford told reporters at his residence here.
On Jan 23, the US offered to help India’s ministry of health and ministry of agriculture through the ministry of external affairs, the envoy said.
“We all hope this can be nipped in the bud. We offered help a few days ago,” he said.
Spelling out the specifics of the US offer, a spokesperson of the US embassy said the US can help India in checking the availability of Tamiflu dry syrup from worldwide stocks and provide technical support for human surveillance, diagnosis and preparedness.
The US has also offered technical support for animal surveillance, diagnosis and culling and to provide personnel protection equipment for the rapid response teams in West Bengal, the spokesperson said.
The US and India are global partners working together on influenza surveillance and share information and ideas about best practices to fight avian influenza and contain possible pandemics.
The Indian government is considering the US offer, an Indian official, who did not wish to be named, said.
“Specialists from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), based in Atlanta, are keeping a close watch on the situation. There is concern that the bird flu after it infects humans can become an epidemic,” an official of the US embassy, who did not wish to be named, told IANS.
Bird flu has spread to 13 of West Bengal’s 19 districts. The disease has spread to 29 of 64 districts in neighbouring Bangladesh.
Avian flu experts fear the H5N1 strain found in both countries could lead to a pandemic, but there have been no reported human infections in India yet.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is India’s most serious outbreak of bird flu.
Over 1.5 million birds have already been culled since the deadly H5N1 virus hit the state earlier this month.