DHAKA, 29 March 2007 — Bangladesh has called for international help to upgrade bird flu testing, an official said yesterday, as the country battles a large outbreak of the disease in poultry. “We have invited donor representatives to a meeting to discuss the situation and formally ask their assistance,” C.S. Karim, head of the Fisheries and Livestock Ministry, said.
Samples are sent to the Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute but the laboratory cannot do the full range of testing needed to confirm the presence of the H5N1 bird flu virus. Samples have to be sent to Bangkok for confirmation, a costly and time-consuming step.
“If we had the appropriate technology we could confirm the outbreak of the virus at least two-weeks earlier,” a veterinary expert said, asking not to be identified. About 55,000 chickens have been culled since the outbreak of avian flu was confirmed in nine farms near the capital Dhaka and northern Jamalpur district last week. No humans have been confirmed infected.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh High Court has ordered the electoral roll be scrapped after a January election was postponed amid complaints the voters’ list was stacked with fake entries. The court in Dhaka also directed the Election Commission to take steps for the introduction of transparent ballot box and voter ID cards to ensure free, fair and credible elections.
While scrapping the voters’ list the court observed that it was prepared without complying with the Representation of People Order 1972 and the Supreme Court directives. The court ordered the Election Commission to update the electoral list in compliance with the SC ruling, election rules and the constitution.
The US-based National Democratic Institute for International Affairs has said 12.2 million names were included on the original list either by mistake or in duplication. Former Prime Minister Hasina Wajed’s Awami League said the now-scrapped list had 14 million “ghost” names on it.
