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**HenryN** · January 20, 2008, 05:04 PM

Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths; H5N1 confirmed

Santragachi ~ Safety for thousands
Home Santragachi Salt Lake Purbasthali

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Just a 20 minute drive from the center of Kolkata lies a 13,75,000 square feet lake, known as the Santragachi Jheel. Winter months (October to March) draw 4000 to 5000 ducks and moorhens to this safe haven.

Swinhoe's Snipe

What is really the key feature of Santragachi is the protection that these birds receive at this small lake. Unless you visit Santragachi and see the unconcerned way in which the normally wary birds move about, you can never appreciate the miracle of Santragachi. And the credit goes to the Indian Railways who own and maintain the lake and more particularly to the local residents who take pride in protecting the birds. As a local youth told me, just try and harm the birds....and it takes that little to change bird behavior.

Fulvous Whistling-duck

Santragachi is not beautiful. It is hemmed in by habitation and railway tracks. Water hyacinth covers a large part of the surface and there is very little green cover. But the birds more than make up in their variety, numbers and in the unconcerned way they make Santragachi a home.
Lesser Whistling-Ducks dominate this lake, as they do in most parts of the east. But by no means is Santragachi a one duck pond:
List:
(To see an image of a particular species visit the India birds page))

<TABLE cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=2 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle width="33%" bgColor=#c0c0c0><SMALL><SMALL>Key: Abundant</SMALL></SMALL></TD><TD align=middle width="33%" bgColor=#ffff00><SMALL><SMALL>Numerous/Common</SMALL></SMALL></TD><TD align=middle width="34%" bgColor=#a4ffc8><SMALL><SMALL>Few/single</SMALL></SMALL></TD></TR><TR><TD width="33%" bgColor=#ffffff> </TD><TD width="33%" bgColor=#ffffff> </TD><TD width="34%" bgColor=#ffffff> </TD></TR><TR><TD width="33%" bgColor=#c0c0c0>Lesser Whistling-Duck</TD><TD width="33%" bgColor=#c0c0c0>Northern Pintail</TD><TD width="34%" bgColor=#ffff00>Northern Shoveler</TD></TR><TR><TD width="33%" bgColor=#c0c0c0>Gadwall</TD><TD width="33%" bgColor=#ffff00>Garganey</TD><TD width="34%" bgColor=#9fff9f>Comb Duck</TD></TR><TR><TD width="33%" bgColor=#a4ffc8>Tufted Duck</TD><TD width="33%" bgColor=#c0c0c0>Cotton Pygmy- Goose</TD><TD width="34%" bgColor=#c0c0c0>Common Moorhen</TD></TR><TR><TD width="33%" bgColor=#a4ffc8>Ferruginous Pochard</TD><TD width="33%" bgColor=#a4ffc8>Fulvous Whistling-Duck</TD><TD width="34%" bgColor=#a4ffc8>Pheasant-tailed Jacana</TD></TR><TR><TD width="33%" bgColor=#ffff00>Bronze-Winged Jacana</TD><TD width="33%" bgColor=#a4ffc8>Purple Heron</TD><TD width="34%" bgColor=#c0c0c0>Indian Pond Heron</TD></TR><TR><TD width="33%" bgColor=#ffff00>White Throated Kingfisher</TD><TD width="33%" bgColor=#a4ffc8>Booted Eagle</TD><TD width="34%" bgColor=#ffff00>Black Drongo</TD></TR><TR><TD width="33%" bgColor=#c0c0c0>Little Cormorant</TD><TD width="33%" bgColor=#ffff00>Cattle Egret</TD><TD width="34%" bgColor=#ffff00>Common Kingfisher</TD></TR><TR><TD width="33%" bgColor=#c0c0c0>Rose-Ringed Parakeet</TD><TD width="33%" bgColor=#c0c0c0>House Swift</TD><TD width="34%" bgColor=#c0c0c0>Spotted Dove</TD></TR><TR><TD width="33%" bgColor=#ffff00>Little Green Bee-eater</TD><TD width="33%" bgColor=#c0c0c0>Asian Koel</TD><TD width="34%" bgColor=#ffffff>Baikal Teal (vagrant)</TD></TR><TR><TD width="33%" bgColor=#c0c0c0>Red-Vented Bulbul</TD><TD width="33%" bgColor=#ffff00>Blyth's Reed Warbler</TD><TD width="34%" bgColor=#ffff00>Purple Sunbird</TD></TR><TR><TD width="33%" bgColor=#a4ffc8>Brown Shrike</TD><TD width="33%" bgColor=#c0c0c0>Asian Pied Starling</TD><TD width="34%" bgColor=#c0c0c0>Common Myna</TD></TR><TR><TD width="33%" bgColor=#a4ffc8>Grey Wagtail</TD><TD width="33%" bgColor=#a4ffc8>White Wagtail</TD><TD width="34%" bgColor=#ffff00>Swinhoe's Snipe</TD></TR><TR><TD width="33%" bgColor=#a4ffc8>Common Coot</TD><TD width="33%" bgColor=#a4ffc8>Yellow Bittern</TD><TD width="34%" bgColor=#a4ffc8>Common Stonechat</TD></TR><TR><TD width="33%" bgColor=#a4ffc8>Collared Dove</TD><TD width="33%" bgColor=#a4ffc8>Little Egret</TD><TD width="34%" bgColor=#a4ffc8>White-breasted Waterhen</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

How to reach: Santragachi is easily accessed from the Kona Expressway which connects the second Hoogly Bridge with NH 6. As you cross the bridge from Kolkata and take the Kona connector, Santragachi Railway Station is a bare 20 minute drive. The jheel or lake is right behind the rail tracks and a short walk from the station. Your destination is less than 10 kms from Raj Bhavan, the city centre.
Best time:November to February when the temperatures dip. Early mornings (6.30 am) and late afternoon (4.00 pm onwards) are the best time(s) of the day.

http://www.kolkatabirds.com/santra.htm

**Treyfish** · January 20, 2008, 05:16 PM

Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths; H5N1 confirmed

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=articleAd width=305>Sunday,20 January 2008 16:11 hrs IST </TD><TD width=54></TD><TD width=61></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=articleContentE vAlign=top><SCRIPT>document.title +=" - 'No humans affected by bird flu in India' "; </SCRIPT>'No humans affected by bird flu in India' 

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=390>

Chennai: No human beings had been affected by bird flu in India so far and no cases have been reported, Union Health Minister Dr Anbumani Ramadoss said here on Sunday.

"Not even a single case has been reported so far", he told reporters here on the sidelines of a function. His remarks come in the wake of the outbreak of bird flu in five districts in West Bengal. Since its outbreak on Jan 15 in Birbhum, the bird flu has spread to western and Northern areas of the state. The government has also stepped up culling operations. Dr Ramadoss said the Centre had instructed the West Bengal government to destroy all birds in the affected districts, to control the disease.

He said people in Tamil Nadu need nor harbour any fears about being affected by the disease as no cases of bird flu had been reported in the state. The minister also said there were no cases of anthrax disease (caused by the bacteria Bacillus Anthracis) in Tamil Nadu.

http://week.manoramaonline.com/cgi-b...DITORIAL&BV_ID=@@@
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**Treyfish** · January 20, 2008, 05:18 PM

Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths; H5N1 confirmed

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=articleAd width=305>Sunday,20 January 2008 21:10 hrs IST </TD><TD width=54></TD><TD width=61></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=articleContentE vAlign=top><SCRIPT>document.title +=" - WB battles ignorance as Bird Flu spreads"; </SCRIPT>WB battles ignorance as Bird Flu spreads

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=390>

Kolkata: Bird flu spread in more blocks in the affected districts of West Bengal as Union Minister of state for Health and Family Welfare Panabaka Lakshmi said that there should be no loopholes in the arrangements to tackle further spread of the disease.

Lakshmi, on a visit to Birbhum district where six blocks and two municipal areas have been notified as hit by avian flu, today met Health and Animal Resources Development (ARD) officials at Santiniketan and promised all possible help by the Centre to contain spreading of the disease.

However, she expressed her displeasure at the lack of infrastructure of an isolation ward of Bolpur sub-divisional hospital, which has been set up to deal with emergencies.

The point was repeatedly referred to during her meeting with senior officials. The minister had said here yesterday that the Centre was not satisfied with the steps being taken by the West Bengal government to contain the disease.

Meanwhile, with mounting public resistance to culling operations in the district, the teams engaged in the job have demanded police protection.

District officials said they were trying to arrange for some security, although no police escorts accompanied the culling teams today.

Locals had beaten up four members of a culling team at Nalhati yesterday. Meanwhile, bird flu deaths spread to three new blocks in Murshidabad district and four blocks in Burdwan district, taking the total number of affected blocks to seven.

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>http://week.manoramaonline.com/cgi-b...DITORIAL&BV_ID=@@@</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

**Treyfish** · January 20, 2008, 05:38 PM

Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths; H5N1 confirmed

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=450 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD> Opinion/Editorial article</TD></TR><TR><TD class=headline>
Like headless chickens</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=450 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=news>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>
Government is once again displaying its shocking lack of preparedness to prevent bird flu from entering the country and containing its spread among poultry thereafter. If people have not been infected so far, thank luck, not authority, writes Surajit Dasgupta

As this article is being written, a news agency report filed at 5.30 pm, Saturday, January 19, informs that Government officials in West Bengal, despite accepting that the disease they are trying to fight and control is avian influenza, are "still waiting for test results to determine whether it is the H5N1 strain of the virus, which has been blamed for the deaths of 217 people worldwide since 2003". This shocking laggardness of the health department, which could - let's pray it does not happen - lead to the deadly virus crossing the species barrier to infect human beings, is unpardonable.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>"If some initial sign, initial indication a pandemic happens, we have to immediately pick up, detect this initial sign or signals and implement all the necessary measures," said WHO regional director for the Western Pacific, Shigeru Omi, whose reference this writer had collected on December 3, from a journalists' workshop on bird flu conducted in New Delhi by the US Embassy. It was represented by the Government of India, too. The Government representative had, in a clear bid to hide the authorities' incompetence, lauded the effort by journalists to sensitise people of bird flu during its outbreak in Manipur early last year.
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>No scribe in that workshop would have braced for a utility of the knowledge gathered from there so soon. But that was in store not as a stroke of destiny but for sheer negligence of the Government - and more so, the bureaucracy. Once again this year, as the babus of Birbhum district slept on the file for full 24 hours after the West Bengal Government issued a timely alert, it was a few journalists who, while trying to investigate the reason behind more than 10,000 chickens dying in the district, rushed to stop the villagers when they found them feasting of the dead poultry stock, thinking the birds died of Ranikhet. One wishes they cooked the meat really well; that kills even H5N1 virus.
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>As if this callousness were not enough, next it was found that the health workers did not have the adequate protective gears needed while disposing of dead, infected chickens. It's sheer chance that now as the health workers are going door to door in the area in search of people with fever, they have so far not come across anyone with bird flu symptoms.
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>The aforementioned report further states that last Thursday, "nearly 3,000 chickens were found dead in a previously unaffected district near the outbreak's epicentre... Officials have yet to announce whether those deaths were from bird flu". What the hell is happening?
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>At the workshop it was heartening for the Indian journalists to know that at least one institution equipped with world-class facilities to detect the H5N1 virus was located in this very country: National Institute of Virology in Pune. Last week, the name of High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal figured in newspaper reports as another credible test centre. It is all too fine to counsel against 'alarmism', but if these eulogised institutions take a week to confirm what the causative agent of the disease outbreak in West Bengal is, it is time to stop celebrating them and hold them accountable. How long are the people to bear with Government statements like "these are preliminary reports", "the virus is yet to be confirmed by HSADL" and "the situation is under control"? The nation cannot afford to have scientists as laidback as clerks. Let the people not remain in the dark anymore and know what experiments need to be conducted that are taking the scientists so long.
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>In the required study - here the method employed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US, is being cited as the one used by the Indian HSADL is not shared with the public - a multiplex real-time assay specifically targets two different regions of the H5 gene. It is specific for H5 sub-type and capable of detecting and quantifying H5 RNA in clinical samples from patients obtained during different outbreaks of bird flu in 1997, 2003, and 2004 in three different parts of the world.
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>This technique not only reduces the risk of contamination but also the turnaround time to between one and two hours - three times faster than the conventional method. It is rapid, specific and relatively sensitive for directly detecting influenza A subtype H5 virus and is useful in routine diagnostic testing. The time required to detect the virus employing this method should not vary much whether the patient is a human being or a dead bird. So, why are we still waiting for confirmation from those who rule the ivory towers of HSADL, Bhopal, or NIV, Pune?
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>This censure does not mean that the Government can pass the buck to lax bureaucrats and scientists. Its bird flu containment policy, too, must be questioned. What was all the hype by the Health Ministry about the preparedness to, first, not let the virus enter the country's territories and, second, if it did, to contain it immediately?
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>Let's also study the efficacy of having a stockpile of Tamiflu, touted as a panacea. True, two drugs (in the neuraminidase inhibitors class), oseltamivir (trade named Tamiflu) and zanamivir (commercially known as Relenza) can reduce the severity and duration of illness caused by seasonal influenza. But the efficacy of the neuraminidase inhibitors depends, among other factors, on their early administration (within 48 hours after symptom onset). Going by the pace at which our system works - where it takes more than a week to confirm a virus - administering the drug within two days would be expecting too much.
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>For cases of human infection with H5N1, the drugs may improve prospects of survival, if administered early, but clinical data are limited. The H5N1 virus is expected to be susceptible to the neuraminidase inhibitors. Antiviral resistance to neuraminidase inhibitors has been clinically negligible so far but is likely to be detected during widespread use during a pandemic.
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>For the neuraminidase inhibitors, the main constraints, which are substantial, involve limited production capacity and a price that is prohibitively high. At present manufacturing capacity, which has recently been quadrupled, it will take a decade to produce enough oseltamivir to treat 20 per cent of the world's population. The manufacturing process for oseltamivir is complex and time-consuming, and is not easily transferred to other facilities. This demand-and-supply factor coupled with manufacturing complexities make it evident how high the price is, and it's anybody's guess that when our Government panicked to stock Tamiflu, the owners of Roche Laboratories Inc, the drug's manufacturer and marketer, must have laughed its way to the bank (the medicine was originally developed by Gilead Sciences Inc).
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>But there is an alibi ready for the Government. It might say WHO had prodded it to keep a stock of Tamiflu. After all, the UN agency's documents say that though "so far, most fatal pneumonia seen in cases of H5N1 infection has resulted from the effects of the virus, and cannot be treated with antibiotics... since influenza is often complicated by secondary bacterial infection of the lungs... WHO regards it as prudent for countries to ensure adequate supplies of antibiotics in advance".
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>Finally, chances are slim that any Government functionary or official can be proven guilty by law either for not screening poultry import from affected regions of the world, or for not letting the people know of the fatal virus H5N1 in time, or for exposing health personnel to the disease, or worse - that we pray shouldn't happen - the virus affecting the people. The workshops journalists are sent to, to let them know how to spread the right information, are either glorified junkets or are, at best, people's first line of defence - in Maharashtra, in Manipur, in West Bengal. The Government, like the police in Bollywood films, always arrives late. Is the delay deliberate?

http://www.dailypioneer.com/indexn12...&counter_img=1</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news vAlign=top colSpan=2>
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**HenryN** · January 20, 2008, 05:46 PM

Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths; H5N1 confirmed

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01200808/Calcutta_Teal.html

**sharon sanders** · January 20, 2008, 09:55 PM

Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths; H5N1 confirmed

Please post/view new India thread:

India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+ - FluTrackers News and Information

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50457

Thanks!

Announcement

India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 13 - Jan 20

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