Imphal, July 27: With the Chingmeirong fowl samples detecting H5N1 strains which is more contagious and could easily transmit on human being, the State Government has accelerated its ongoing surveillance exercise of containing spread of Avian Influenza.

The State Government has also increased the number of Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) of both the Veterinary & Animal Husbandry and Health Department from today.

The State Health Secretary P Vaiphei said that the health exercise has been expanded from 3 kms to 5 kms radius of the affected area.

The number of RRTs pressed into service within the area has been increased from 10 to 40, Vaiphei said while informing that two respiratory ventilators have also been send from NICD, New Delhi and the same fitted at JN Hospital where a 10-bedded isolation ward is kept reserved in case of the virus affecting human lives.

The State Health Secretary further informed that RIMS has already installed seven such ventilators of its own and the State Government is seeking eight more from the Centre.

Out of the total 10251 persons who were examined yesterday, 59 of them have been found suffering from Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI), Vaiphei said, adding that these people have no backyard poultry farms.

Three officials from NICD who had experienced of handling the surveillance tasks at the bird flu outbreak in Maharashtra are currently supervising the exercise.

The State Police, in the meantime, are keeping a sharp vigil to foil transportation of domesticated birds within 10 km radius of the affected area.