India: Bird Flu Confirmed in Chickens in Sikkim

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.mynews.in/fullstory.aspx?storyid=14805

Death of chickens in South Sikkim triggers bird flu fear
Gangtok: Around 30 chickens have died in rural areas of Ravangla subdivision in South Sikkim in the past two days triggering fears of bird flu outbreak in the state.

Official sources here said the chickens had died in three areas of Ravangla and its adjoining areas. The first death of chickens was reported on January 14 after which State Animal Husbandry officials had taken the samples to Bhopal as the cause of the deaths.
The entry points to the above areas where the deaths of the chickens took place had been sealed and selling of even local chicken and eggs completely banned in Ravangla subdivision and its peripheral areas, sources added.

The State Animal Husbandry was circulating a circular for the ban on selling of chicken products in the suspected areas of South Sikkim. The department had requested the people not to get panicky till the laboratory reports come from Bhopal.

Sikkim had been so far insulated from bird flu though its neighbouring areas of Darjeeling district had been regularly affected. The state had already banned imports of poultry products from last month after the outbreak of bird flu in neighbouring Darjeeling district.

An intensified campaign had also been launched to prevent the outbreak of the disease in the state. All vehicles entering Sikkim through Rangpo and Melli checkposts were being sprayed with disinfectants and passengers were made to drop down from their vehicles at the entry points and walk through carpets laced with disinfectants.

If the laboratory reports from Bhopal confirmed that the death of chickens were due to bird flu, it will be the first instance of bird flu outbreak in Sikkim.

[HenryN]

Re: India: Death of chickens in South Sikkim triggers bird flu fear

Updated map

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=106484775090296685271.00045da2c3c24f4d59de3&t=p&ll=27.039557,88.313599&spn=2.299465,3.878174&z=8

[Commonground]

Re: India: Death of chickens in South Sikkim triggers bird flu fear

I've zoomed in on a lot of maps - but this terrain is definitely mountainous, and actually...I don't know how they even detected it....

[HenryN]

Re: India: Death of chickens in South Sikkim triggers bird flu fear

I've zoomed in on a lot of maps - but this terrain is definitely mountainous, and actually...I don't know how they even detected it....

When backyard flocks die, those raising the birds notice.

[HenryN]

Re: India: Death of chickens in South Sikkim triggers bird flu fear

Commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01160904/H5N1_Sikkim.html

[Commonground]

Re: India: Death of chickens in South Sikkim triggers bird flu fear

When backyard flocks die, those raising the birds notice.

Backyards? I must have missed them....

[HenryN]

Re: India: Death of chickens in South Sikkim triggers bird flu fear

Backyards? I must have missed them....

Descibed in OIE reports.

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: India: Death of chickens in South Sikkim triggers bird flu fear

[quote=niman;202477]Commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01...im.html[/quote]
Commentary

Likely H5N1 Spread to South Sikkim India
Recombinomics Commentary 20:05
January 16, 2009


Around 30 chickens have died in rural areas of Ravangla subdivision in South Sikkim in the past two days triggering fears of bird flu outbreak in the state.

Official sources here said the chickens had died in three areas of Ravangla and its adjoining areas. The first death of chickens was reported on January 14 after which State Animal Husbandry officials had taken the samples to Bhopal as the cause of the deaths.

The above comments describe the likely spread of H5N1 South Sikkim (see updated map). Today Nepal confirmed H5N1 near its borders with West Benal and Bihar. H5N1 has also been confirmed in multiple areas of Darjeeling, including the Darjeeling Hlls which are just south of Sikkim.

H5N1 in Sikkim would not be a surprise. The outbreaks in Suliguri are surrounded nature reserves and wild animal sanctuaries, and birds migrate to the south as the temperature drops.

Testing in India however remains suspect. H5N1 has been reported in or around Qinghai Lake in China in every year since 2005, and birds from Qinghai Lake spend the winter in northern India, yet India has never reported H5n1 in a wild bird.

The outbreak in Nepal, which was confirmed in England, raised concerns about H5N1 surveillance in the area due to minimal testing of tissues in dead or dying birds, and throat swabs in at risk individuals.

.

[Shiloh]

Re: India: Death of chickens in South Sikkim triggers bird flu fear

Source: http://www.zeenews.com/states/2009-0...99531news.html

About 30 birds dead in Sikkim due to unnatural reasons

Gangtok, Jan 17: About 30 birds, including chickens, have died at Ravanga locality in South District of Sikkim in the past two days, triggering fears about a possible outbreak of bird flu in the state.

Animal Husbandary and Veterinary Services Department Director K C Bhutia confirmed the death of over two dozen birds, including chickens, due to unnatural reasons at Ravangla but declined say if it was due birdflu.

The department was closely monitoring the mortality of birds, he told on Saturday here and added a report from the central health authorities was being awaited to confirm whether these birds have died due to bird flu or other reasons.

Sikkim had banned supply of poultry products from outside the state last month following the outbreak of bird flu in Malda district of West Bengal.

The state police had been conducting searches in vehicles at Rangpo and other checkposts bordering Sikkim to prevent supply of poultry products from outside.

Bureau Repo

[HenryN]

Re: India: Death of chickens in South Sikkim triggers bird flu fear

Gangtok, January 17, 2009
First Published: 20:35 IST(17/1/2009)
Last Updated: 20:37 IST(17/1/2009)

About 30 birds dead in Sikkim due to unnatural reasons


About 30 birds have died in Ravanga locality in South District in the past two days due to unnatural reasons triggering fear about a possible outbreak of bird flu in the himalayan state.
Animal Husbandary and Veterinary Services Department Director K.C. Bhutia confirmed the death of over two dozen birds, including chickens, due to unnatural reasons in Ravangla area in the past two days, but refused to confirm the outbreak of birdflu in Sikkim.
The department was closely monitoring the unnatural mortality of birds, he told PTI here and added that a report from the central health authorities was being awaited to confirm whether these birds have died due to bird flu or other regions.
Sikkim had banned supply of poultry products from outside the state last month following the outbreak of bird flu in Malda district of West Bengal.
The state police had been conducting searches in vehicles at Rangpo and other checkposts bordering Sikkim to prevent supply of poultry products from outside.



http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print.aspx?Id=17aeeb83-a51c-41a5-b743-d9050d8fa73d

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: India: Death of chickens in South Sikkim triggers bird flu fear

Bird flu confirmed in Sikkim


Published: January 19,2009

Gangtok , Jan 19 Confirming outbreak of bird flu in Sikkim&aposs South district, the government today said culling of birds in the affected area will begin as soon as the Central team arrives either later today or tomorrow.

Birdflu was confirmed by High Security Diseases Laboratory in Bhopal after samples of 30 birds, which died at Ravangla in South district was sent to it, animal husbandry and veterinary services department joint director K C Bhutia told PTI here.

"We are awaiting the arrival of a Central team following which the culling operations would start in the affected region in which between 5,000 and 8,000 birds will be culled,"he said.

Besides the culling operations, measures have been taken to prevent supply of poultry products from Ravangla locality to other parts of the state, Bhutia said.

The bird flu-hit areas will be disinfected with sprays to prevent the spread of the avian influenza, he said.

http://www.indopia.in/India-usa-uk-news/latest-news/481566/National/1/20/1

[HenryN]

Re: India: Bird Flu Confirmed in Chickens in Sikkim

Updated map

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=106484775090296685271.00045da2c3c24f4d59de3&t=p&ll=27.620273,88.203735&spn=2.175478,3.186035&z=8

[HenryN]

Re: India: Bird Flu Confirmed in Chickens in Sikkim

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01190901/H5N1_Sikkim_Confirmed.html

[HenryN]

Re: India: Bird Flu Confirmed in Chickens in Sikkim

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Jan 19, 2009
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Bird flu outbreak in India <!--10 min-->
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>




<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->NEW DELHI - HEALTH authorities in the eastern Indian state of Sikkim on Monday confirmed a new outbreak of bird flu and said thousands of poultry would be killed to control its spread.
The outbreak was reported in the southern part of the state, where officials will slaughter between 5,000 and 8,000 birds and disinfect affected areas, the Press Trust of India reported.
'We are awaiting the arrival of a central team following which the culling operations would start,' PTI quoted K.C. Bhutia of the animal husbandry and veterinary services department as saying.
India has spent the last year battling its worst outbreak of the deadly H5N1 virus.
Authorities in the eastern state of West Bengal slaughtered more than five million birds in 2008 to stem the spread of the disease.
Last month officials in the northeast state of Assam killed more than 250,000 chickens after fears that the disease had spread to humans. However, no human cases have been reported in India. -- AFP

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_328221.html

[HenryN]

Re: India: Bird Flu Confirmed in Chickens in Sikkim

Bird flu outbreak reported in eastern India
Updated at: 1745 PST, Monday, January 19, 2009
NEW DELHI: Health authorities in the eastern Indian state of Sikkim on Monday confirmed a new outbreak of bird flu and said thousands of poultry would be killed to control its spread.
The outbreak was reported in the southern part of the state, where officials will slaughter between 5,000 and 8,000 birds and disinfect affected areas, according to media reports.
"We are awaiting the arrival of a central team following which the culling operations would start," PTI quoted K.C. Bhutia of the animal husbandry and veterinary services department as saying.
India has spent the last year battling its worst outbreak of the deadly H5N1 virus.
Authorities in the eastern state of West Bengal slaughtered more than five million birds in 2008 to stem the spread of the disease.
Last month officials in the northeast state of Assam killed more than 250,000 chickens after fears that the disease had spread to humans. However, no human cases have been reported in India.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=65639