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

[HenryN]

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

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

First Published: 12:30 IST(16/1/2008)
Last Updated: 02:31 IST(17/1/2008)

West Bengal culls chickens, bird flu spreads


Even as culling of poultry began in the state, reports of the deadly bird flu disease spreading to newer areas came in on Wednesday, with the state government issuing a general alert. Meanwhile, Margram village in Birbhum district has been declared the epicentre of the bird flu outbreak and sealed off from the rest of the country.
The state government has confirmed that the flu is spreading to Murshidabad and two new blocks in Birbhum. More poultry birds are dying with symptoms of bird flu in other parts of the state, including Burdwan, South 24 Parganas, Nadia and Malda.

It was learnt that the animal husbandry department in New Delhi has pulled up the state for its delay in taking measures to prevent the outbreak. While the birds started dying on January 4, the state informed the Centre a week later ? resulting in delay in public awareness campaigns. Moreover, culling in the vulnerable Margram village started around 1 pm on Wednesday ? a full 24 hours after the Centre confirmed existence of the deadly disease in Bengal on Tuesday afternoon.

The operation could not gain momentum till Wednesday evening, following the state government?s failure to properly train the health workers and spread public awareness campaigns in Rampurhat and Balurghat. The poor villagers also tried to escape killing their birds by selling them outside and releasing them in the nearby fields.
Director of Health Services Sanchita Bakshi said, ?The culling process was a little delayed in the affected districts. Around 1,500 chickens were disposed of in Birbhum district on the first day. A team of experts from Delhi is coming to the city on Thursday to take stock of the situation. They will also hold meetings with state health and animal resource development officials.?
Meanwhile, all private vehicles have been banned from entering or leaving a 10 km radius around the epicentre, Margram. ?The idea is to contain the outbreak by preventing poultry being smuggled out of the area,? Union Health Secretary Naresh Dayal said. Though there are no reports of suspected human infections, the health authorities are not taking any chances. ?Ten doctors have been appointed to monitor the health of the cullers. Of the 280 examined before the culling started, 29 were found unfit. The rest went to work wearing full protective gear,? he added.
The Centre has sent another 20,000 doses of Tamiflu ? the medicine used to treat bird flu ? to add to the state?s existing stock of 3,700 doses.



http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print.aspx?Id=482e3e18-2311-453e-b5f1-9ad99ac68c18

 

[Shannon Bennett]

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

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

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=779d4d78-ac39-45ff-b88a-e11c5ceb0755&MatchID1=4627&TeamID1=1&TeamID2=6&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1165&PrimaryID=4627&Headline=Panic+hits+local+market%2c+prices+drop

Panic hits local market, prices drop

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<!--End of the leftContentPane--><!--Start of the CenterContentPane--><!--Start of top module--><!-- VIN: Start of InfoBox -->HT Correspondents, Hindustan Times
Email Author
Kolkata, January 17, 2008
First Published: 03:46 IST(17/1/2008)
Last Updated: 03:50 IST(17/1/2008)
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<!--End of top module--><!--Start of the story--><!-- VIN: Start of actual news body -->It may be a sheer coincidence that chicken was not served at the CPI(M) state conference at Mahajati Sadan on Wednesday, but the bird flu panic has certainly hit the local market.
Prices in the wholesale market have dropped, caterers complained that customers are canceling orders, roadside eateries and restaurants alleged that there was a sharp decline in their sales and city hospitals have stopped offering chicken and eggs to patients.
The state poultry industry, which have a large market in neighbouring Jharkhand and Bihar, is in a sticky situation as both states have imposed a blanket ban on the import of Bengal chicks following the outbreak of the dreaded disease. The West Bengal government has already ordered culling of chickens, principal secretary, animal resource development department, Dilip Chakraborty, said at Writers’ Buildings on Wednesday.
According to Chakraborty, the state exports approximately 40,000 chicks to Jharkhand and 60,000 to Bihar every day. The ban on the import has virtually put the state poultry industry in quandary. The state information and culture department, of which Chakraborty is the principal secretary, would be issuing an advertisement, both in the electronic and print media so that the state poultry industry does not face a similar experience, as it had experienced two years back. Md Kamaluddin, who sells chicken in New Market said, “Everyday I sell around 200 kilograms, but today I have sold only about 125 kilograms. If the trend continues then the prices will drop sharply, as it happened in 2004 and 2006.”
The scenario in the wholesale market was, however, little different. Prices have already dropped by at least three rupees and hatchery owners are blaming it on dealers and middlemen. Assistant secretary of West Bengal Poultry Welfare Association, Nazrul Islam said, “It is the middleman and dealers who are pressurising to cut down the prices”.

 

[AlaskaDenise]

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

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

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01160802/H5N1_Birbhum_WB.html

Commentary http://www.recombinomics.com/feed.xml

Wild Bird Spread of H5N1 in West Bengal India?

Recombinomics Commentary 10:10
January 16, 2008

And the deadly strain of the virus couldn't have struck at a worse time, the 18th of December, a couple of days before Bakrid - a time when the demand for chicken peaks in the Muslim dominated village.

Dead chickens and even a few crows and owls are strewn across the landscape, according to health officials and television news pictures.

TV pictures also showed shirtless farmers picking up dead chickens with their bare hands and dropping them in shallow pits, some covering their mouths with cotton scarves.

Protection did not seem to be of much importance as many in other villages of the affected districts were seen holding dead pigeons and crows with their bare hands.

The above comments indicate the outbreak in the Birbhum district (see updated satellite map) began a month ago, and resident wild birds, including crows, pigeons, and owls have been affected.

Many of the infected birds have been eaten by villagers, and at least two have shown bird flu symptoms.

The delayed response is due in part by limited testing due to concerns about causing alarm. Although this is the third H5N1 outbreak in India, they have yet to report H5N1 in wild birds, even though the bar headed geese from Qinghai Lake in central China winter in the northern plains of India.

In the current outbreak in West Bengal, H5N1 has been confirmed in two districts and suspected to have spread to a third. The outbreaks are near the eastern border shared with Bangladesh, where confirmed and suspect outbreaks on also being currently reported. The Bangladesh border has been sealed to limit cross border movement.

However, the outbreak in Birbhum is only 20 miles from the Bangladesh border as the crow flies, so limits on the ground may not effectively limit spread. Similarly, the farm in Balurghat in south Dinajour is on the border, and suspect bird deaths have been noted across the border in Rajshahi, Bangladesh.

The time delay, coupled with dead resident wild birds suggests the H5N1 has spread beyond the reported locations.

More information on testing in adjacent areas would be useful.

.

 

[AlaskaDenise]

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

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

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01160803/H5N1_West_Bengal_Culls.html

Commentary http://www.recombinomics.com/feed.xml

Expanded H5N1 Culling in West Bengal India

Recombinomics Commentary 11:05
January 16, 2008

Following news of poultry deaths that emerged on 12 January, culling has started in Birbhum and South Dinajpur districts, with West Bengal administration officials saying culling has also begun in the adjoining districts of Maldah and Mushidabad.

The number of birds on the culling list for these four districts would be near the 300,000 mark, said the Union agriculture ministry, with more than 30 tonnes of feedstock also slated to be destroyed.

The above comments describe expanded culling in West Bengal, India (see updated satellite map). H5N1 has been confirmed in Birbhum and South Dinjapur, but H5N1 has also been confirmed across the border in Bangladesh, so the outbreak may have already spread well beyond the confirmed region.

Media reports suggest chickens began dying in Birbhum a month ago. Dead crows, pigeons, and owls have been noted in the region. The expanded culls include areas between the two confirmed locations, as well as areas between the Birbhum outbreak and the Bangladesh border, which is just 20 miles from the outbreak.

Bangldesh has also reported dead poultry just across the border from the South Dinjapur outbreak, so sealing of the border may not limit spread.

More details on culled locations and dead birds in the expanded regions would be useful.

.

 

[HenryN]

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

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

Unconfirmed stories, saying bird flu is spreading in more districts

Thousands of chickens die in Nadia too

Statesman News Service

KRISHNAGAR, Jan. 16: Coming at a time when the deadly H5N1 avian influenza or bird flu virus is spreading terror in Birbhum, South 24-Parganas and other districts in West Bengal and neighbouring Bangladesh, the deaths of thousands of chickens in some villages of Nadia bordering Bangladesh for the past 15 days have sent alarm bells ringing.

The possibility seems strong since at least 5,000 chickens have died of an unknown disease and villagers of Srirampur, Pratapnagar, Jannagar, Kanainagar, Kanchantala, Rajapur and Uttar Tazpur under the Tehatta-I block and Burnia under Tehatta-II block are panicking as the affected chickens had not responded to the medication.

Though the symptoms were akin to the Ranikhet disease, the medicines used to combat the virus did not work on the chickens, said Mr Jinnat Ali, upa pradhan of Kanainagar gram panchayat.

Mrs Saraswati Biswas, panchayat pradhan of Kanainagar gram panchayat, said: ?At least 5,000 chickens have died of an unknown disease at several villages in the panchayat during the last 15 days. The first symptoms were detected when the birds looked drowsy. They died within 48 hours.

Hundreds of villagers from Uttar Tazpur, Pratapnagar and Rajapur had the same experience. The deaths have been particularly worrisome, since villagers, mostly from the minority community depend on these birds for their livelihood.?

Mr Arup Sengupta, Tehatta sub-divisional officer, said: ?I have received information about the deaths of some chickens in a few villages yesterday but it is yet to be confirmed whether the birds died of flu. The district health department and animal husbandry officials were in the spot today and they have taken measures to combat the situation.?

Mr Onkar Singh Meena, district magistrate, said: ?We are prepared for any eventuality. The veterinary officers and health officials are working in the affected villages and collecting samples. We will first send the samples to Kolkata for identification of the virus and if the reports do point at bird flu, we will take steps.?

The Kanaipur panchayat today banned the sale of birds in the panchayat area and neighbouring villages from where abnormal mortality of chickens has been reported. The India-Bangladesh border has been sealed to prevent chicken entry from Bangladesh.

At Baruipur in South 24-Parganas also, more than 50 chickens died in two poultry farms over the past five days triggering fears that Avian Flu struck the district.

According to reports, district administration has sounded an alert after death of birds were reported. Blood samples of chickens of these two firms have been sent to the city for tests. Unofficial sources said that nearly 200 birds had died in Baruipur over the past week.

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=6&theme=&usrsess=1&id=186078

Updated map

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...24.249469,88.332825&spn=4.146381,6.031494&z=7

 

[HenryN]

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

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

news service
Posted online: Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 0136 hrs IST
Kolkata, January 16
Avian Flu has spread to new areas even as culling of chickens in Birbhum proved an uphill task.
The new areas declared affected include Muraroi Block 1 and Muraroi Block 2 and Rampurhat Municipality of Birbhum and four gram panchayat areas ? Kadamkandi, Parulia, Jhilli and Kirtipur of Khargram in Murshidabad.
?We have imposed all standard restrictions and culling at those places will start tomorrow. So far, 55,000 chickens have died of Avian Flu. We have not yet received the report of any human being afflicted,? said Anisur Rehman, Minister for Animal Resource Development. All poultry farms have been asked not to rear any chicken for the next three months.
Tomorrow, a Central team comprising the Additional Director General and the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Health will come to Kolkata to meet the state government officials.
The government has also sent samples of dead birds from Baruipore in South 24 Parganas. ?About 40 chickens have died, but symptoms are of Ranikhet, another common disease,? he said.
The Poultry Farm Owners Association of West Bengal has, meanwhile, expressed deep concern as Jharkhand has banned the import of chickens from West Bengal. ?Their representatives met me and said they would face tremendous financial loss. We will take up the issue with the Centre,? said Dilip Chakrabarthy, principal secretary, Department of Animal Resources.
Apart from paying compensation to those whose chickens had been culled, the government is also planning to compensate those whose chickens had died.
The government will also demand that the Centre sets up a regional laboratory in the state to test Bird Flu samples. ?I am going to attend the meeting of Indian Council for Agricultural Research in Delhi on January 23 and will raise the demand with Union minister for Agriculture Sharad Pawar,? the minister said.

http://www.indianexpress.com/printerFriendly/262439.html

 

[Commonground]

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

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

So far, 55,000 chickens have died of Avian Flu.

Whoa! Dr. Niman, did you witness this many just dying, last winter/spring?

 

[HenryN]

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

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

Whoa! Dr. Niman, did you witness this many just dying, last winter/spring?

I would put H5N1 in India and Bangladesh well into the "out of control" category.

 

[Shannon Bennett]

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

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

Considering the number of cases within 24 hours I would concur with Dr. Niman. However, there have been other incidents of high poultry losses. http://www.fao.org/docs/eims/upload//213829/agal_duckfarming_vietnam_mar06.pdf
See page 30. While this is for Vietnam it does give some idea of how many have either died or been culled over a period of time. The numbers are simply staggering.

 

[Commonground]

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

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

Thank you for getting back to me Dr. Niman. I'll check out that FAO report tomorrow Shannon, thanks.

 

[sharon sanders]

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

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

I would put H5N1 in India and Bangladesh well into the "out of control" category.

I believe the documented China numbers were much higher a couple of years ago.

 

[Treyfish]

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

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

Caution, not panic, is the guideword
Arun Ram
Thursday, January 17, 2008 04:30 IST


CHENNAI: Scientists at the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) in Bhopal are peering into the microscopes to ascertain if the H5N1 strain responsible for the bird flu outbreak in West Bengal poses any danger to humans.
Strains of the last two outbreaks ? in Nandurbar, Maharashtra, in Feburary 2006 and Chingmeirong, Manipur, in July 2007 ? though different, belonged to the HPAI (high pathogenic avian influenza) variety.
Scientists do not rule out the probability of the virus having mutated to a new strain, but with no human infection reported so far, caution, not panic, is the guideword.
?We have initiated genetic sequencing of the viral strain and only after the process is complete ? in more than a week ? we will be able to ascertain the pathogenicity of the strain. The strain we isolated from Manipur last year showed a tendency to adapt to (infect) humans, which is dangerous,? HSADL joint director AC Dubey told DNA.
While the 2006 strain in India was found similar to the one responsible for the outbreak in Vietnam and Thailand, the 2007 outbreak in Manipur saw the Qinghai strain, which can mutate to survive in the human nose.
Like in 2006, the outbreak this time coincides with the peak period of migratory birds in India. ?Migratory birds are the prime suspects whenever there is an outbreak of bird flu. Though many of them do not suffer from the disease, they can be silent carriers of the virus. We are doing tests,? Dubey said. :tiphat: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1145653

 

[Shannon Bennett]

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

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

We are now up to 400,000.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=206013&Sn=WORL&IssueID=30303

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="98%" align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=title width="100%">400,000 birds culled in India </TD></TR><TR><TD class=body vAlign=top width="100%"><!--body text-->KOLKATA: Health officials in the eastern state of West Bengal yesterday began the slaughter of tens of thousands of chickens, a day after New Delhi confirmed an outbreak of the deadly avian flu in the region.
"The culling of chickens has just started in the core areas like Margram where the disease was first detected," state animal resources minister Anisur Rahaman said.
The state government has put together 55 rapid response teams to slaughter more than 400,000 chickens in the area.
The agriculture ministry announced the cull after confirming poultry deaths due to the H5N1 strain last week.
The state borders Bangladesh, where authorities have been struggling to contain an outbreak of the virus.
New Delhi said 35,525 poultry in Birbhum district and 288 birds in Dinajpur district had died, but added the outbreak appeared to be localised.
This is the third outbreak of the avian flu in India since 2006.
l In Bangladesh, bird flu was yesterday reported in another district, Barishal in the south, forcing authorities to cull 1,531 birds.
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[AlaskaDenise]

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

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

What causes me considerable concern, is that first this virus is wiping out a considerable portion of the protein supply, then it may provide considerable incentive for people to quarantine themselves in their homes - without a ready protein supply.

Kind of a viral "scorched earth" policy.

.

 

[AlaskaDenise]

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

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

Panic hits local market, prices drop

It may be a sheer coincidence that chicken was not served at the CPI(M) state conference at Mahajati Sadan on Wednesday, but the bird flu panic has certainly hit the local market.

Prices in the wholesale market have dropped, caterers complained that customers are canceling orders, roadside eateries and restaurants alleged that there was a sharp decline in their sales and city hospitals have stopped offering chicken and eggs to patients.

The state poultry industry, which have a large market in neighbouring Jharkhand and Bihar, is in a sticky situation as both states have imposed a blanket ban on the import of Bengal chicks following the outbreak of the dreaded disease. The West Bengal government has already ordered culling of chickens, principal secretary, animal resource development department, Dilip Chakraborty, said at Writers? Buildings on Wednesday.

According to Chakraborty, the state exports approximately 40,000 chicks to Jharkhand and 60,000 to Bihar every day. The ban on the import has virtually put the state poultry industry in quandary. The state information and culture department, of which Chakraborty is the principal secretary, would be issuing an advertisement, both in the electronic and print media so that the state poultry industry does not face a similar experience, as it had experienced two years back. Md Kamaluddin, who sells chicken in New Market said, ?Everyday I sell around 200 kilograms, but today I have sold only about 125 kilograms. If the trend continues then the prices will drop sharply, as it happened in 2004 and 2006.?

The scenario in the wholesale market was, however, little different. Prices have already dropped by at least three rupees and hatchery owners are blaming it on dealers and middlemen. Assistant secretary of West Bengal Poultry Welfare Association, Nazrul Islam said, ?It is the middleman and dealers who are pressurising to cut down the prices?.

.

 

[AlaskaDenise]

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

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

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=articleheader>FIRM MEASURES
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=story align=left>

There is no need to panic, but it is too early to relax. There is absolutely no alternative to fighting bird flu relentlessly. It has broken out in Birbhum and South Dinajpur, and although the virus has not mutated within humans (as it had in 1918, killing 40 million people all over the world), prompt action is the only way to prevent a disaster in a densely populated country like India. Almost 40,000 chickens have died over ten days, and from yesterday the culling of about 3.5 lakh country and broiler chickens, ducks and pet birds has begun. Apart from ensuring the thoroughness of this operation, the government will have to be alert on several fronts. Most of the affected poultry belong to poor rural and suburban families, where the birds mingle freely with human beings, especially children. The government must have a clear sense of how to keep poor and mostly illiterate people properly informed about what sort of precautions to take and what to look out for.

What is needed is vigilance as well as sensitivity. To most people, the poultry they keep at home are precious sources of earning, and the flu itself, in spite of the dying birds, is less real than the threat of losing one?s livelihood (main or supplementary) for a few months. So, the compensation money for the culled birds must be properly distributed ? without avarice, corruption or mismanagement.

Basic habits of hygiene, like washing hands, burying dead birds properly and protecting children, should be instilled without delay, and proper channels of communication thought out for this using local networks and institutions. Ignorance and frayed nerves must be handled alike with care, but with firmness as well.

Larger farms and hatcheries, no matter how privatized and state-of-the-art, should be kept within the purview of vigilance. An eye towards profit, or fear of losing custom, must not deter large-scale stakeholders from following stringent regulations. There must also not be any suppression of information, however alarming. The movement of poultry and the patrolling of the border, though easier said than done, should certainly be a priority. Given the regularity with which bird flu breaks out in India, most of the preventive measures should become a matter of habit among poultry-owners rather than being perceived and practised as emergency measures.

.​

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[AlaskaDenise]

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

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

Bird deaths not caused by bird flu, but by a virus locally known as Ranikhet ???
--------------------------------------------
New bird deaths reported in east India

CALCUTTA, India - Health officials Thursday investigated new bird deaths in eastern India to check whether bird flu was spreading to additional areas despite a poultry cull aimed at curbing the disease.

Hundreds of bird deaths were reported in four new districts of West Bengal state on Wednesday after an outbreak of bird flu killed more than 54,000 birds in nearby Birbhum and Dinajpur districts, said Anisur Rahman, state minister of animal husbandry.

Rahman said the symptoms in the new deaths, which all occurred in areas close to each other, suggested they were not caused by bird flu, but by a virus locally known as Ranikhet ? a contagious and fatal disease affecting all species of birds but with no record of attacking humans.

"But we are not taking chances and have sent samples to laboratories for testing for bird flu," he told The Associated Press.

The new areas under watch are in Nadia, Murshidabad, Burdwan and South 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal state, Rahman said.

The culling of chickens started on Wednesday, a day after the federal government confirmed that the birds in two West Bengal districts were infected with the H5 strain of bird flu, and tests were under way to determine whether it was the virulent H5N1 subtype.

No human deaths or unusual illnesses have been reported in the region, Rahman said Thursday.

About 400,000 chickens were being slaughtered the affected areas. Health workers were also going door-to-door in the areas looking for people with high fevers or breathing trouble.

An outbreak of the H5N1 virus hit western India in 2006, but India declared the country bird flu-free after slaughtering hundreds of thousands of chickens. No human cases were reported. A smaller outbreak in northeastern India was contained last year.

The H5N1 virus has afflicted more than 60 countries, forcing the slaughter of hundreds of millions of birds since it began ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003.

It is now entrenched in several countries, including Indonesia, Egypt and Nigeria, and has killed at least 206 people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

The virus remains hard for people to catch, but experts fear it may mutate into a form that spreads easily among humans, potentially sparking a pandemic. So far, most human cases have been linked to contact with infected birds.


Villagers bring in their birds for culling in Pathna village, Margram, in the Indian state of West Bengal, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008. Health workers slaughtered tens of thousands of chickens Wednesday after an outbreak of bird flu killed more than 35,000 birds in eastern India, officials said. (AP Photo)

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

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

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

Ranikhet is Newcastle Disease.

 

[AlaskaDenise]

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

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

WHO: Bird Flu crisis very serious

1/17/2008 12:19:40 PM

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width="41.4%" align=left border=0><COLGROUP><COL width="100%"></COLGROUP><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: white; valign: top" width="100%">

</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: white; valign: top" align=left width="100%">A WB government designated official culls private poultry stock in Margram, Bibhum district
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The World Health Organisation or WHO has warned that India has big trouble on its hands - hinting that the Bird Flu outbreak could perhaps be one of the worst ever, more severe than previously encountered.

A WHO statement released today (January 17) reads:

"More serious risk factors are associated with this current outbreak than previously encountered, including that the affected areas are more widespread and because of proximity to extended border areas."


Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar meanwhile has said today that an alert has been sounded not only in West Bengal but across the country.
"We have taken strong measures to counter the Bird Flu threat from the Bangladesh border. We have passed on all information to the West Bengal government and sounded a countrywide alert. International guidelines are being followed in the culling operations in West Bengal," said Pawar.

The statement comes after the Centre, facing a crisis and coming under harsh criticism for its handling of the outbreak, began a blame game yesterday alleging that the state government had pressed the alarm button at least a week after it received information about abnormal poultry deaths in the state.

TIMES NOW has been told that the WB government sat quiet for a week in willfull controvention of rules which state that the Centre must be informed about unexplained and largescale bird deaths within 24 hours.

The West Bengal government reported the fact that chickens were dying in Birbhum and South Dinajpur districts of the state on January 11, whereas the first report of the deaths came to state health officials on January 4. Timeyl action could thus not be taken to limit the outbreak which may have already spread to neighbouring districts like Hoogly, South 24 Paraganas and Murshidabad.

.

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

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

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

Districts of West Bengal:

Confirmed bird flu

# 5 South Dinajpur

# 7 Birbhum District

Unconfirmed reports from:

# 6 Maldah

# 8 Murshidabad

# 10 Nadia

# 18 South 24-Parganas


Note: # 17 is Kolkata / Calcutta Metropolis

# 9 Bardhaman / Burdwan