Kathmandu, January 23:

A three-member team comprising a medical doctor, an outbreak control officer and a microbiologist is to leave Kathmandu for Jhapa tomorrow to strengthen the ongoing surveillance on bird flu in the eastern region.

The team will supervise whether instructions given by Avian Influenza Control Project (AICP) to check bird flu have been properly implemented. “The team will first make sure if any case of influenza-led illness and case of pneumonia has been recorded in local health offices,” said Dr Manas Kumar Banerjee, project coordinator of the AICP.

As per the instructions, if cases of influenza-led illness exceed more than five in a village or a ward, health officers need to be on high alert. The team will also train laboratory personnel on how to conduct rapid diagnostic tests if a case of bird flu is noticed.

The medical team will train health officials on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). It consists of Pami flu medicine that will be given to ‘suspect’ patients of bird flu. Dr Banerjee is quite sure that bird flu has not made inroads into the eastern region.