No surgical gloves so plastic bags: state staff say we aren’t equipped

Worse, the Animal Husbandry and Resource Development Department, responsible for the health of the birds, has no clue what action is being taken by the other department. Neither department has enough supplies of protective gear like specialised gowns, masks, boots, gloves and goggles that’s mandatory for staff monitoring or investigating an outbreak.

Fifty Health department workers sent to the affected areas have been told to slip on plastic packets on their hands and fasten it with rubber bands since the department cannot provide sterile gloves.

Hospitals in the affected areas do not have isolation wards or quarantine zones. Makeshift isolation wards are being opened in the Muraroi block primary health centre and Rampurhat sub-divisional hospital for possible human cases, but the staff is ill-equipped and unaware.

“We have limited gowns which we had given them (health workers). We are trying to arrange more. Meanwhile, they have been told to take precautions like wearing plastic packets on their hands,” said Bakshi.

She said she was not aware of what the Animal Husbandry department was doing.

Animal Husbandry Minister Anisur Rehman said: “I don’t know what the Health department is doing. We are doing our work.” He said his officers had fanned out in the area and stopped the sale and movement of chicken and chicken products.

“We have also discussed the question of sealing the border,” Rehman said.

Bakshi, meanwhile, said: “We think that the suspected cases are because of chicks brought from Bangladesh.”

The state Government is yet to set up a laboratory at Belgachia to test for avian flu. Last year, a meeting was held between the state and Union Health Ministry regarding the project and officials from Delhi visited Kolkata. But the laboratory has still not been opened.