The Maharashtra health department will send eight samples to National Institute of Virology (NIV) of poultry workers working on bird farms or were involved in culling of birds in Nandurbar district for human avian flu, an official said on Monday.
District Health Officer Ravindra Sonawane said the eight samples belonged to those who were in contact with poultry and other birds in Nandurbar, a district hit by bird flu.
‘8 people not shown symptoms of avian human flu yet’
“Samples of eight people have been taken because they were in contact with the birds or were involved in culling process. They have not shown any symptoms of human avian flu. The samples, including nasal swabs, will be sent to NIV, Pune on Tuesday,” Sonawane told PTI.
The workers are being given Tamiflu tablets as a precautionary measure, he added. No sample of any government employee has been sent, Sonawane informed.
Health officials track dozens who left Hantavirus stricken ship after 1st death
Outside of India, health authorities across four continents Thursday were tracking down and monitoring passengers who disembarked a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship before its deadly outbreak was detected, and trying to trace others who may have come into contact with them since then.
In Argentina, a team of investigators tasked with determining the origins of the deadly hantavirus on a cruise ship has yet to leave for the southern town they suspect is the source, officials from the country’s Health Ministry told The Associated Press on Thursday.
On April 24, nearly two weeks after the first passenger had died on board, more than two dozen people from at least 12 different countries left the ship without contact tracing, the ship’s operator and Dutch officials said Thursday.
