Samples of dead birds found in Lake Mburo National Park were yesterday taken to Entebbe Virus Research Institute for bird flu tests.
Dr. Nicholas Kauta, the co-chairman of the national task force for bird/Avian flu, could not ascertain the number of the dead birds but said some samples of enyange (egrets) had been submitted for testing.
Kauta, the commissioner for livestock health and entomology in the agriculture ministry, said the Government and other stakeholders were preparing for any eventuality.
“Although we have not had anything unusual, we are not about to relax. We have extensive surveillance programmes to prevent an outbreak by establishing the truth,†Kauta said.
The Government has stocked an influenza drug and acquired a machine to test bird flu and release the results in five hours.
Besides an impartial ban on poultry and its products, the Government has put veterinary staff across the country, especially on the border with the DR Congo, on full alert.
Mburo park dead birds tested for flu
