Watch where you peck

 
Published: Friday 31 March 2006

Bird Flu Ahmedabad

A new surveillance system developed by an Ahmedabad-based firm might just save a few chickens. It does not necessarily mean deliverance from dinner tables but rather rescue from being butchered needlessly because of the bird flu panic.

Poultry farms can install the surveillance cameras, which can monitor signs of disease in chickens, detecting sick birds much before they start dying from bird-flu. The telemedicine-based system has already proved useful for detecting severe acute respiratory syndrome in Malaysia and is now upgraded to detect bird-flu in poultry and people. It detects people with high body temperatures and abnormal breathing, even in crowded places. The scanners can be located in any public place and are monitored through a central base. Small enough to be carried in a brief case, the device will be able to penetrate remote areas.

Currently being offered at a rental of Rs 5,000 a month, the device provides faster data collection than surveys.

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