Ministry wants bird flu surveillance stepped up

Dar es Salaam. The Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children has instructed regional and district medical officers to strengthen monitoring and diagnosis of bird flu at all health facilities across the country.

The directive follows a Ugandan government announcement that the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), which infects both animals and humans, has been detected following tests on carcasses of white winged black birds that died on the shores of Lake Victoria near Entebbe on January 2.

However, Minister Ummy Mwalimu yesterday gave the assurance that there was no Bird Flu in Tanzania, but urged the people to take precaution following reports suggesting that the disease has already entered Uganda.

In her statement, Ms Mwalimu urged residents to report without delay at centres whenever they see signs of the disease. “Until now, the bird flu hasn’t noticed anywhere in Tanzania, but our neighbours, Uganda, have reported a few cases. We need to take precautions to prevent the disease from entering the country. Since 2007, Tanzania has been on the alert for bird flu. We prepared a Strategic Plan for Bird Flu Prevention and Control,” she noted.

She noted that in 2012, her ministry, in collaboration with other ministries and government agencies, prepared the five-year plan.

Ms Mwalimu further noted that steps have been taken after receiving reports of the disease outbreak in Uganda, including collaborating with the office that deals with the diseases that afflict humans and animals (zoonotic diseases) under the Prime Minister’s office, where a special meeting was scheduled for January 18 for stakeholders to deliberate on the scare and prepare the action plan.

“Precaution letters have been sent to administrative secretaries of all regions of mainland Tanzania alerting on how the disease might spread,” she noted.