Tuesday, September 13 2005 20:14 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: India will keep a close vigilance on the migratory birds from China, Kazakhstan and Vietnam in the wake of several deaths due to bird flu in the Asian region, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said today (Sept 13, 2005).

Surveillance and monitoring of the migratory birds will be done systematically and Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) will be one of the main agents involved in the programme, he told reporters here.

India has not reported any case of 'Avian influenza' or 'bird flu'. "But we must anticipate its arrival and spread in India one day and be prepared to respond adequately if we are to contain the disease before it gets out of control," he said.

Scientists have found the bird flu virus in migrating geese in China. So, the bar-headed geese coming to India from China and Kazhakstan poses a threat.

"India has banned import of poultry products from the countries affected by the bird flu, but the migratory birds pose the only problem," Ramadoss said.

The deadly virus strain has been found in the migratory geese at a nature reserve in western China. Tens of thousands of birds that could be carrying the H5N1 Avian Influenza virus are due to leave the reserve in September, heading for warmer climes across the Himalayas and in the south, towards Australia and New Zealand, BNHS sources said.

These birds reach India mostly in early October. The birds, according to experts, can pass the virus to domestic or poultry animals, which can, in turn, transmit to humans as well.