The Union Health Ministry not only issued warnings to the West Bengal Government on the bird flu outbreak but, in line with WHO guidelines, sent equipment and tools to set up the necessary infrastructure to fight the disease — which are gathering dust.

On January 14, the Centre sent 15 ventilators and 10 semi-automatic analyzers (for speedy biochemical blood tests) to West Bengal should there be any human infection from the virus. Five more ventilators were sent on January 20. These were meant for installation in emergency isolation wards for suspected human infections of H5N1 virus. Till date, when bird flu has been reported from nine districts, the equipment lies uninstalled, at the central medical store of the state Health Department in Kolkata.

When contacted, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare P Laxmi said: “We have sent adequate equipment for the isolation wards. But I am sorry to say that I could not find one in place at the isolation wards in Bolpur when I visited there recently. One must understand that we cannot take chances with such an outbreak.”

She said the Ministry had supplied 1,20,000 capsules of Tamiflu, 5000 personal protective equipment, 5000 masks, “but the ministry had no idea how these were being utilized.”

Following the outbreak in Margram on January 15, the state health department set up two isolation wards at Rampurhat subdivisional hospital and at Bosua block primary health centre. Later, isolation wards were opened at Bolpur, Balurghat subdivisional hospitals and at the Infectious Diseases hospital in Beliaghata.

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