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Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="93%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="100%">After recovery of dead wild birds, vety dept on bird flu alert </B>
The Imphal Free Press
IMPHAL, Jan 31:The state veterinary and animal husbandry services have gone on the alert following reports of unnatural deaths of wild birds during the last few days in the vicinity of Maharabi village, under Sekmai police station in Imphal west district.
As per official reports, at least eight local and migratory wild birds have been found dead at Maharabi village in the past three days. Out of this three dead birds have been collected by a veterinary department team yesterday and today.
Official sources said the dead carcass of a bulbul (khoining), was handed over by villagers to the veterinary team yesterday, while the carcasses of a dead urok and another bulbul were recovered from the same village today.
Dr Th Doren, director, veterinary and animal husbandry, said a rapid response team has also collected samples from domesticated birds, primarily poultry, being reared by the villagers today.
The collected samples will be sent to the high security laboratory at Bhopal tomorrow, accompanied by a specialist of the department in order to test for the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza.
The discovery of dead wild birds in the state assume added significance in light of the outbreak of bird flu in West Bengal.
As per the latest reports, bird flu has spread to at least 13 out of 19 districts of West Bengal
The Union ministry of agriculture, veterinary and animal husbandry, and fisheries, has already sounded a red alert all over the country following the West Bengal outbreak.
According to the veterinary director, in compliance with instructions from the Centre, the state government has taken up special precautionary measures to prevent avian influenza spreading into the state.
Apart from other measures, import of poultry products from outside the state has been banned, and the veterinary department has opened check posts at various entry points to prevent such imports.
The director said due to delays in communications with the hill districts, the figures for unnatural deaths of migratory/wild birds in the state as a whole cannot be immediately updated, a rapid response team is ready to take necessary action in case further unnatural deaths of birds are reported anywhere.
It may be mentioned, the state faced its own outbreak of bird flu in July last year, leading to massive culling of birds in the Imphal area. After a series of follow-up operations and surveillance lasting for some three months, the state was finally declared bird-flu free in November.
http://www.kanglaonline.com/index.ph...40981&typeid=1
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="93%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="100%">After recovery of dead wild birds, vety dept on bird flu alert </B>
The Imphal Free Press
IMPHAL, Jan 31:The state veterinary and animal husbandry services have gone on the alert following reports of unnatural deaths of wild birds during the last few days in the vicinity of Maharabi village, under Sekmai police station in Imphal west district.
As per official reports, at least eight local and migratory wild birds have been found dead at Maharabi village in the past three days. Out of this three dead birds have been collected by a veterinary department team yesterday and today.
Official sources said the dead carcass of a bulbul (khoining), was handed over by villagers to the veterinary team yesterday, while the carcasses of a dead urok and another bulbul were recovered from the same village today.
Dr Th Doren, director, veterinary and animal husbandry, said a rapid response team has also collected samples from domesticated birds, primarily poultry, being reared by the villagers today.
The collected samples will be sent to the high security laboratory at Bhopal tomorrow, accompanied by a specialist of the department in order to test for the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza.
The discovery of dead wild birds in the state assume added significance in light of the outbreak of bird flu in West Bengal.
As per the latest reports, bird flu has spread to at least 13 out of 19 districts of West Bengal
The Union ministry of agriculture, veterinary and animal husbandry, and fisheries, has already sounded a red alert all over the country following the West Bengal outbreak.
According to the veterinary director, in compliance with instructions from the Centre, the state government has taken up special precautionary measures to prevent avian influenza spreading into the state.
Apart from other measures, import of poultry products from outside the state has been banned, and the veterinary department has opened check posts at various entry points to prevent such imports.
The director said due to delays in communications with the hill districts, the figures for unnatural deaths of migratory/wild birds in the state as a whole cannot be immediately updated, a rapid response team is ready to take necessary action in case further unnatural deaths of birds are reported anywhere.
It may be mentioned, the state faced its own outbreak of bird flu in July last year, leading to massive culling of birds in the Imphal area. After a series of follow-up operations and surveillance lasting for some three months, the state was finally declared bird-flu free in November.
http://www.kanglaonline.com/index.ph...40981&typeid=1
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</TD></TR><TR><TD height=5> </TD></TR><TR><TD>The bird flu containment strategy, prepared by the working group headed by former Poultry Federation of India chief Shashi Kapur, has been submitted to Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and animal husbandry department secretary Pradeep Kumar. </TD></TR><TR><TD height=5> </TD></TR><TR><TD>Ring vaccination will involve preventive vaccination of all poultry and ducks, including backyard birds, in a belt around the areas where the infection has already taken root. </TD></TR><TR><TD height=5> </TD></TR><TR><TD>?Ring vaccination is the same as fighting fire when the adjoining areas are doused with water or foam to prevent the fire from spreading,? explained Kapur. </TD></TR><TR><TD height=5> </TD></TR><TR><TD>The strategy also stipulates prompt and higher payment of compensation for the culled birds, broadly citing two reasons: firstly, the low compensation is forcing people to smuggle birds to outside the culling zones; secondly, the keepers of backyard birds, who are among the poorest of the poor, can ill-afford the income loss due to culling and the subsequent mandatory three-month de-populated phase. </TD></TR><TR><TD height=5> </TD></TR><TR><TD>The group has suggested enhancing compensation for the less than 10-week old chicken from the present Rs 10 to Rs 20 per bird and for older chicken from Rs 40 to Rs 80. </TD></TR><TR><TD height=5> </TD></TR><TR><TD>Similarly, the compensation for the below 10-week old ducks has been suggested to be fixed at Rs 20 and for older ducks at Rs 100 per bird. </TD></TR><TR><TD height=5> </TD></TR><TR><TD>The additional total pay-out cost of the raised compensation has been worked out at Rs 9 crore, if around 24 lakh birds are culled. Even if the number of birds to be culled goes up to 40 lakh, the additional cost would be no more than Rs 15 crore. </TD></TR><TR><TD height=5> </TD></TR><TR><TD>The total compensation cost for 40 lakh birds would be around Rs 61.74 crore, which would benefit some 30 lakh poor people, according to the group. </TD></TR><TR><TD height=5> </TD></TR><TR><TD>Kapur said the situation in West Bengal was similar to Vietnam which has reported the maximum number of human deaths due to H5N1 virus infection. </TD></TR><TR><TD height=5> </TD></TR><TR><TD>The density of backyard poultry birds and ducks is almost similar in both these regions (between 384 and 463 poultry birds and 184 ducks per sq km). </TD></TR><TR><TD height=5> </TD></TR><TR><TD>But the density of human population is much higher in India (901 persons per sq km) than Vietnam (254 persons per sq kms). This makes India more vulnerable than even Vietnam in some respects. </TD></TR><TR><TD height=5> </TD></TR><TR><TD>Vietnam, too, had tried to control H5N1 virus through stamping and culling but did not succeed for over a year. It subsequently resorted to 100 per cent vaccination which sharply brought down the number of disease outbreaks among the poultry. Besides, there has been no death of any human being since then, Kapur pointed out .
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