 |
Kathmandu Friday November 02, 2001 Kartik 17, 2058.
|
Task force formed to combat anthrax attack
Post Report
KATHMANDU, Nov 1 - As reports of anthrax attacks continue to
scare people around the world, a meeting of representatives from different ministries and
other responsible government bodies today discussed over potential anthrax attacks in
Nepal and formed a high-level task force.
Minister of State for Science and Technology Bhakta Bahadur
Balayar leads the task force, which is responsible for fighting the potential attack,
maintaining preparedness in the postal services and instilling awareness among the masses.
Said Dr Mahendra Bahadur Bista, the Acting Director General
of the Department of Health Services (DHS), who was present at the meeting said, "The
task force will work as a watchdog and also prepare future policies to handle such
bio-terrors, which have rocked various countries in a month time."
He added, "The government has foreseen the possibility
of the extent of harm that could be caused by the anthrax. And the government is quite
serious."
Secretaries of the Ministries of Health, Communication, Home,
Agriculture, Science and Technology, Royal Nepal Academy of Science and Technology
(RONAST) experts, the Inspector General of Police, the Director General of the Postal
Services Department, the Director of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division
unanimously agreed to stay prepared before the anthrax terror actually shows up in the
country.
Bista also said the meeting has decided to give authority to
the police to take action whenever any suspicious item was found unclaimed anywhere.
"The task force will make a guideline to combat anthrax attack and will work towards
disseminating information through radio all over the county," he said.
The development came a day after the General Post Office
started providing masks and gloves to its employees to prevent them from being infected
through the postal mails and letters.
Meanwhile, the DHS has intensified tests in all the districts
through its District Public Health Centres, and has also urged the heads to notify
immediately to the central department if traces of anthrax are found anywhere. "We
have set up three labs: National Public Health Laboratory, Central Veterinary Laboratory
and Forensic Lab of RONAST to continue check-ups," Bista said.
He said that anybody who suspects himself of being infected
by the deadly bacteria must have his/her blood samples checked up immediately. "If
diagnosed in time, that is within a week or so, the possibility of saving the patient
remains. It will be simple and easy," Bista added.
A circular issued by the DHS later on states that anthrax has
not been traced in Nepal. Dr Shubh Narayan Mahato, the Deputy Director General of
Department of Livestock Services, said anthrax is a "zoonotic disease" that can
be transmitted from animals to human beings but the bacteria of anthrax cannot attack
human beings so easily.
The bio-terror, believed to have been launched by terrorists
on October 5, has so far claimed four lives in the United States and 15 others have been
found infected elsewhere. Over the month, the terror has spread from the US to the Europe
and Asia and now to South Asia.
Other Stories
|
