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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Bird-flu outbreak rattles Nandurbar

Around 2.40 lakh hens culled, Nine-lakh eggs destroyed Mumbai: For the third time in 20 years, Avian Influenza has hit Navapur, in Nandurbar district, with over 2.40 lakhs birds culled in the past few days as worried farmers await compensation and effective vaccines. In some areas, all the infected birds in big and small farms have been eliminated by specialist teams, as per World Health Organisation (WHO) and central government’s guidelines. This is the third time after 2006 and 2021...

Bird-flu outbreak rattles Nandurbar

Around 2.40 lakh hens culled, Nine-lakh eggs destroyed Mumbai: For the third time in 20 years, Avian Influenza has hit Navapur, in Nandurbar district, with over 2.40 lakhs birds culled in the past few days as worried farmers await compensation and effective vaccines. In some areas, all the infected birds in big and small farms have been eliminated by specialist teams, as per World Health Organisation (WHO) and central government’s guidelines. This is the third time after 2006 and 2021 that the town – which produces 10-lakh eggs daily – has come under the attack of Avian Influenza, commonly known as ‘bird flu’, said Navapur Poultry Association (NPA) President Arief Balesaria. “We rank the biggest in production of eggs by Layer Chicken after Pune and Baramati. There are other egg producing centres in the state. The Layer Chicken are among the best laying hens. But in the past fortnight or so, our production has come to a complete stop,” a concerned Balesaria told The Perfect Voice. The 10-lakh eggs are sent to markets in Mumbai, Nashik, Jalgaon and even Surat, which will now be fed by other smaller suppliers from Maharashtra or other states, he said. The outbreak in Navapur started mysteriously on April 12, when a local farmer discovered five dead chickens in his farm. Initially it was suspected to be heatstroke and a local Veterinary prescribed medicines, but by afternoon more than four dozen birds were snuffed out. By next morning, the farmer lost more than 300 chickens even as other alarmed farmers in a three-km vicinity reported similar tragedies as the birds simply dropped dead without apparent symptoms, said Balesaria. In Balesaria’s own Wasim Poultry Farm, the situation was ditto – five days after the first incident, he found 55 birds dead and by that evening, over 130 were no more, though the chickens were eating normally and not appearing sick. After the local authorities were informed, samples were collected from three of the worst-hit farms and tested at the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases, Bhopal. They tested positive for the dreaded ‘Avian Influenza’, shocking the poultry farmers in Navapur. Swift Action Nandurbar Collector Dr. Mittali Sethi swung into action and declared large parts of Navapur as an ‘infected and surveillance’, spread over nearly 10 kms radius, banned all sale of poultry, bird-feed, and other related materials for three months, and local police were deployed to enforce the restrictions. Meanwhile, by Monday, the infection figures zoomed up dramatically and till May 6, over 2.40 lakhs birds have been culled, nearly 9-lakh eggs destroyed plus 210 tonnes of bird feed disposed off, said Balesaria of the sudden calamity. State and district officials have expressed apprehensions that the toll could climb much higher and have enforced strict monitoring in Navapur and also other egg-producing centres in north Maharashtra region. Culling continues with the help of 18 officers daily while over 125 veterinarians and support staff have fanned out in the affected zone. His son and third-generation independent farmer Tausif B. is grappling with his first bird-flu calamity and is worried about the future with his entire stock of 6 lakh eggs, 62,000 birds and 72-tons of feed destroyed. “This time, my farm was not affected. But according to official protocols, my 30,000 chickens were culled and over 60,000 eggs destroyed. The government has banned us from restarting or restocking for at least three months, or till July 31, when the crisis is expected to be over. Presently, we are sitting idle and helpless as the losses pile up for all the 27 NPA member-farms,” rued Balesaria. Farmers cry for better vaccines As death stalks egg farms in Navapur, distressed farmers urged the Centre to urgently permit more effective vaccines to contain the spread of Avian Influenza, as existing measures are proving inadequate. The NPA leaders claimed that the currently approved vaccines target the relatively milder H9N2 strain, while farms in the region are being devastated by the far more lethal H5N1 virus. “The government has allowed vaccines for H9N2 strain. But the Layer chickens are hit by the deadlier H5N1 strain. Vaccines for H5N1 are already in use in several countries, including China, the United States and parts of Europe. Why are we being denied access to the same protection?” asked the NPA leaders. India currently does not allow use of H5N1 vaccines, citing various concerns and relies on the traditional culling, movement restrictions and biosecurity measures in such outbreaks, though NPA alleges that Indian vaccine manufacturers are creating obstacles for getting better vaccines.

Hitting the Snooze Button

Lethargy, day-time sleepiness and morning headaches—until now these were blamed on a restless night and treated with anything from prescription sleep medicines to light music and warm shower rituals. But as recent research shows, sleep medicine studies disruptions in sleep and can provide long-lasting solutions. Dr Nupur Jhunjhunwala, dentist, sleep medicine practitioner and founder of Toothwise and Somniawise, speaks to The Perfect Voice on this new area of dentistry that’s gaining popularity.

 

How can dentistry play a role in sleep medicine?

Dentistry has an interesting role to play in sleep medicine. Obstructive sleep apnea, which is one of the commonest and most under diagnosed problems in the world today, can be treated by a dentist who is trained to do so. The treatment results in a drastic improvement in the quality of life and prevents the long-term ill-effects of untreated sleep apnea.

 

What symptoms are seen in people with sleep disorders?

Patients come with signs and symptoms like excessive daytime sleepiness, lethargy, apathy towards professional and personal lives, morning headaches, mouth breathing, the feeling of not having slept well, snoring, night grinding of teeth, acidity, frequent night time urination, uncontrolled blood pressure, diabetes, hormonal imbalance and weight gain.

 

What causes sleep apnea?

Smaller, underdeveloped and mal-positioned jaws lead to constricted airways and nasal passages. This leads to breathing difficulties especially while lying down. When we lie down the shape, size and volume of our airway can change in such a way that it constricts the passage of air causing snoring and sleep apnea.

 

How can it be diagnosed?

A sleep study can be conducted at home or in a sleep centre depending on the individual requirements. It must always be done under the guidance of a medical professional.

 

Are there any emotional or psychological causes?

Stress has a massive role to play in sleep disorders like insomnia. Stressful life events are closely associated with the onset of chronic insomnia, in the presence of predisposing factors like family history, past medical history, personality type, poor sleep habits, social and other environmental factors.

 

What’s the difference between oral appliances and sleep medicine?

Oral appliances treat only sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is one of the sleep disorders which are most commonly seen, the other being insomnia. For sleep apnea the treatment option chosen depends on the severity of the disease, type of sleep apnea, other comorbidities, underlying facial and dental problems, lifestyle, age and individual requirements. In other words an oral appliance cannot treat all sleep apnea cases.

 

How do sleep disorders impact the overall well-being of a person?

A nine-year-old girl came to me. She had been diagnosed with ADHD like behaviour and migraines. After doing her sleep study, I realized she had severe obstructive sleep apnea and started treating her for that. With treatment, she experienced complete transformation in her personality. She started doing better at academics and sports and the headaches reduced to almost negligible. Her migraine medications were stopped completely. Sleep apnea creates a struggle in the body where the brain and other body parts do not get enough oxygen and have to compensate for that in different ways that are harmful for health. These compensations may not be easily visible because they are developing slowly but ultimately, they show up in a variety of symptoms like the ones in this little girl.

 

What is good sleep hygiene that people must follow?

Sleep hygiene or good sleep habits are seemingly simple habits to follow but go a long way in ensuring good quality sleep, leading to optimal mental, physical and emotional health.

 

Firstly, have consistency in sleep and wake timings, put away phones, tablets, laptops, kindles and other light-emitting screens, an hour before bedtime. 


Keep a gap of 2-3 hours between bedtime and dinner and between bedtime and exercise. 


Make sure your bedroom is comfortable and conducive to sleep. Make it dark, quiet, cool and use good quality mattresses and pillows.


Reduce caffeine intake but if you already suffer from insomnia then, completely avoid caffeine in any form; limit afternoon naps, again if you suffer from any degree of insomnia then try to avoid aps completely. 


Create a relaxing bedtime routine that can involve warm showers, music or chatting with friends and family.

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