Media info on bird flu in some cases were confusing : UNICEF report

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Though most newspapers reported the outbreak of bird flu with due importance, some failed to rise to the occasion, a UNICEF official said in the city Monday, reports bdnews24.com.
UNICEF Communications Officer Shamsuddin Ahmed's remarks came at a press briefing and were based following a review of reports published within two weeks of the government's declaring the spread of bird flu March 22.
The summary said that though almost all newspapers had published more than one news item in the first week, the flow decreased in the second. However, awareness campaigns and educational matters increased from the second week.
Some newspapers, it said, had failed to present proper information. Confusion was created in the public mind as to the number of chickens culled because of different figures in different newspapers.
Some newspapers had wrongly described the disease as "Ranikhet" in addition to providing contradictory information, the summary added.
At the briefing in the UNICEF's Dhaka Sheraton Hotel office, the official presented a comparative picture of Bangladesh and other countries following bird flu epidemics.