India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

[HenryN]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

'Bird flu virus similar to one that hit Maharashtra'</ARTTITLE>
30 Jan 2008, 0225 hrs IST

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Kounteya Sinha

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TNN

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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left>NEW DELHI: The H5N1 virus, presently wreaking havoc in West Bengal, is similar to the one that hit Nawapur in Nandurbar district of Maharashtra in February 2006.

Scientists from the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, who have completed gene sequencing of the H5N1 virus isolated from West Bengal, have told the Union health ministry in an official report submitted on Tuesday, that the virus is the highly virulent Asian strain similar to the one circulating in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Speaking to TOI , health secretary Naresh Dayal said: "The scientists, in their report, said that the virus is different from the strain that hit Manipur in 2007. The Manipur virus was more the Indonesian type. The present virus is highly infectious like the Maharashtra strain." This finding has now made the Union health ministry request the external affairs ministry to ask Bangladesh to share the genetic history and information of the virus that has affected one-third of the districts in the neighbouring country. Because of the proximity of West Bengal's bird flu affected areas to Bangladesh, India feels the virus may have entered this country through the illegal poultry trade.

Dayal said: "If we see that the virus circulating in Bengal is the same as the Bangladeshi type, we can almost be certain that illegal trade of infected poultry from Bangladesh into India was the cause of the present outbreak. If the strains don't match, the virus may have then been brought into India by migratory birds." He added: "That Bangladesh is our source of infection is till now just a matter of conjecture since Bangladesh has been seeing an uncontrolled outbreak of H5N1 since March. This has made us take for granted that the virus came from Bangladesh. However, unless we compare gene sequencing of the two types we can't say that definitely.

"We want Bangladesh to share information about the virus so that we can undertake its gene sequence and know the source of our outbreak. We don't want to manipulate the virus and make vaccines out of it," he added.

Influenza A subtype H5N1 is the one that can cause illness in humans and other animal species. While HA is found on the surface of the influenza virus and is responsible for binding the virus to the cell that is being infected, NA is an enzyme found on the surface of the virus that facilitates the release of progeny viruses from infected cells.

TOI reported on January 27 that India feared the outbreak in Bangladesh was far worse that what was being actually reported by its government. The need to get the neighbouring country to be more transparent in the control and containment operations of the disease was also getting louder in India.

kounteya.sinha@timesgroup.com

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-2741761,prtpage-1.cms

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[HenryN]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Flu: Central order flouted
Pranesh Sarkar
KOLKATA, Jan. 29: Though the state government shrugged off the Centre?s allegation that its failure allowed the avian flu virus to spread rapidly in West Bengal, it has become clear that the state?s reluctance to follow Central guidelines in November 2006 has helped the H5N1 virus to spread to 13 districts. The guideline, styled as action plan for preparedness, control and containment of avian influenza, was sent to all state governments including West Bengal in November, 2006 by the Union ministry of agriculture to stop spread of the virus and prevent the situation from getting worse.
But it was evident that the state government did not take appropriate measures as directed in the action plan when unnatural deaths of birds were reported at Margram in Birbhum where the virus had hit first.
The negligence of the state was first evident when the local authorities sent samples to the high security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal on 11 January. But villagers had informed the authorities on 4 January of unnatural deaths of poultry birds in the villages of Margram. But the action plan clearly mentioned that in case of a suspicion of outbreak of avian influenza such as receipt of any preliminary report regarding unusual sickness or above average mortality of poultry, the chief veterinary officer or district animal husbandry officer shall visit the place immediately and not later than 24 hours and samples must be collected and a special messenger should leave for Bhopal within 24 hours after the officials reach the spot. But here it took seven days to send the samples to Bhopal.
A few steps have been recommended after sending the samples and pending receipt of the test result, like cordoning off the suspected area, imposing ban on movement of poultry, dead birds, eggs from the suspected area, farm personnel should be advised to wear protective clothing, movement of people to and from the suspected area before the test results are received, the possibility of closing the markets and shops of the area may be explored by the district authorities.
But none of these steps was initiated between 11 January when the samples were sent and 15 January when presence of H5N1 virus was confirmed. Villagers were seen selling and handling birds without any precaution and movement of poultry birds, eggs were also not restricted. However, not only delay in reacting in the post bird flu outbreak situation, slackness of the state was witnessed in the post outbreak period too. The action plan strongly recommended that manpower has to be mobilised to ensure that control operations are started immediately after notification of bird flu, it was witnessed that the state was struggling to arrange manpower to set up the required number of rapid response teams. The delay helped the virus spread further. The state also failed to impose a ban on movement of poultry in the area as directed in the guideline. The villagers were seen selling their birds in the local cattle markets even after bird flu was notified.
Editorial: Bengal?s ailment, page 6

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=1&theme=&usrsess=1&id=187843

 

[Shannon Bennett]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/rssarticleshow/msid-2741744,prtpage-1.cms

Bird flu spreads to urban areas</ARTTITLE>
30 Jan 2008, 0215 hrs IST

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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left>KOLKATA: State officials may be patting their backs for completing culling in bird flu affected districts but the dreaded H5N1 virus has struck back by hitting urban areas.

Bird flu was confirmed in new sites on Tuesday evening ? Kalyani municipality and Kanchrapara gram panchayat in Nadia, a village in Birbhum's Suri block-I and Howrah's Panchla and Sankrail. Both districts had announced that culling was nearly complete and the new outbreak has come as a shock.

In Kolkata, the health department had a harrowing time after a member of the culling team in Budge Budge, South 24-Parganas, was admitted to MR Bangur hospital with suspected bird flu. Blood samples of Dipankar Dey were sent for tests to three labs. "All came back negative. He is suffering from an infection of the upper respiratory tract," said Sanchita Bakshi, director health services.

Culling has been ordered in Baduria, North 24-Parganas, after half the stock of poultry died at a farm. The government decided not to wait for the test reports from Bhopal, said animal resources development minister Anisur Rahman. He refuted corruption charges pressed against some culling officials but admitted that the state had lodged a police complaint against staff who left midway through the culling operation in Birbhum without informing their superiors.

In Midnapore town, there was panic after seven goats dropped dead. The owner claimed he had buried the animals but couldn't show the burial place raising fear that the infected meat was sold.

In Nadia, samples sent from Harijanpara, a densely-populated area in Kalyani town, tested positive. "We were nearly through with the culling operation but the virus has spread to Kalyani. We will take similar action there. Culling will be carried out in parts of Chakda block as well," said Nadia DM Omkar Singh Meena.

The bird flu situation came up for discussion at the state cabinet meeting on Tuesday where chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee expressed concern about the source of the virus that affected 13 districts of the state.

Birbhum DM T K Som confirmed that bird flu had been confirmed in Suri's Alumda village. "This area is within five km of Suri town, so we have decided to cull chickens in the municipality area also. The operation will start on Wednesday," Som said. Fresh samples have been sent from Malda's Kaliachak-III block.

Home secretary Prasad Ranjan Ray said the US Consulate had offered help to tackle the outbreak. "The decision rests with the Centre. A high alert has been issued in the areas along the India-Bangladesh border," Ray said.





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[HenryN]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Bird flu spreads to urban areas</ARTTITLE>
30 Jan 2008, 0215 hrs IST

,

TNN

SMS NEWS to 58888 for latest updates

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left>KOLKATA: State officials may be patting their backs for completing culling in bird flu affected districts but the dreaded H5N1 virus has struck back by hitting urban areas.

Bird flu was confirmed in new sites on Tuesday evening — Kalyani municipality and Kanchrapara gram panchayat in Nadia, a village in Birbhum's Suri block-I and Howrah's Panchla and Sankrail. Both districts had announced that culling was nearly complete and the new outbreak has come as a shock.

In Kolkata, the health department had a harrowing time after a member of the culling team in Budge Budge, South 24-Parganas, was admitted to MR Bangur hospital with suspected bird flu. Blood samples of Dipankar Dey were sent for tests to three labs. "All came back negative. He is suffering from an infection of the upper respiratory tract," said Sanchita Bakshi, director health services.

Culling has been ordered in Baduria, North 24-Parganas, after half the stock of poultry died at a farm. The government decided not to wait for the test reports from Bhopal, said animal resources development minister Anisur Rahman. He refuted corruption charges pressed against some culling officials but admitted that the state had lodged a police complaint against staff who left midway through the culling operation in Birbhum without informing their superiors.

In Midnapore town, there was panic after seven goats dropped dead. The owner claimed he had buried the animals but couldn't show the burial place raising fear that the infected meat was sold.

In Nadia, samples sent from Harijanpara, a densely-populated area in Kalyani town, tested positive. "We were nearly through with the culling operation but the virus has spread to Kalyani. We will take similar action there. Culling will be carried out in parts of Chakda block as well," said Nadia DM Omkar Singh Meena.

The bird flu situation came up for discussion at the state cabinet meeting on Tuesday where chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee expressed concern about the source of the virus that affected 13 districts of the state.

Birbhum DM T K Som confirmed that bird flu had been confirmed in Suri's Alumda village. "This area is within five km of Suri town, so we have decided to cull chickens in the municipality area also. The operation will start on Wednesday," Som said. Fresh samples have been sent from Malda's Kaliachak-III block.

Home secretary Prasad Ranjan Ray said the US Consulate had offered help to tackle the outbreak. "The decision rests with the Centre. A high alert has been issued in the areas along the India-Bangladesh border," Ray said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/rssarticleshow/msid-2741744,prtpage-1.cms


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[HenryN]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01290807/Midnapore_Goats.html

 

[HenryN]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

<TABLE class=RedTableBorder style="HEIGHT: 483px" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR style="PADDING-LEFT: 10px" vAlign=top><TD class=articalTitle align=middle>Eastern states go on bird flu alert

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=430 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=dates id=hDate height=27>Published: Wednesday, 30 January, 2008, 01:37 AM Doha Time</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR style="PADDING-RIGHT: 12px; PADDING-LEFT: 10px"><TD class=articalBody id=artical1 vAlign=top height=345><TABLE width=10 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle>

</TD></TR><TR><TD class=imgcaption id=Comment dir=rtl vAlign=top align=middle>Health workers cull chickens in Birlapur village, about 20km south of Kolkata yesterday</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
NEW DELHI: Orissa and Bihar yesterday stepped up measures to prevent the possible spread of avian influenza from neighbouring West Bengal, as did north-eastern states Manipur and Nagaland, media reports said.
Both West Bengal state and neighbouring Bangladesh have reported widespread occurrence of bird flu since early January.
The state government said yesterday that the disease was contained in 13 of its 19 districts and that no new cases had been reported.
?We have already reached our target to cull nearly 2.2mn chickens across all bird flu-affected districts. But some more chickens would also be culled in two newly affected districts - South 24-Parganas and West Midnapore - within next two days,? West Bengal Animal Resource Development Minister Anisur Rahman had said on Monday.
South 24-Parganas borders West Bengal capital Kolkata, a densely populated city of more than 13mn inhabitants.
Municipal authorities had posted surveillance teams in the suburbs to check for infected birds and sale of poultry had been banned in some markets seen as high-risk, PTI news agency reported.
The H5N1 virus had been confirmed in a village about 13km west of Kolkata.
A total of more than 125,000 poultry birds had died of the disease in West Bengal by Sunday, a federal Ministry of Agriculture release said.
As sales of chickens and eggs dropped drastically across India, the ministry said it was safe to eat cooked poultry and poultry products in areas not affected by the disease.
Birds brought in from West Bengal were being buried alive in Orissa, NDTV television channel reported. Orissa?s borders with West Bengal?s affected districts had been sealed and orders issued to stop entry of birds and eggs from the neighbouring state.
Teams of veterinarians had been sent to immunize chickens at poultry farms along the order in Mayurbhanj, Baleswar and Sundargarh districts.
Similar steps were being taken in Bihar. The governments of Nagaland and Manipur had also increased surveillance of all poultry products coming in from neighbouring states and were keeping a watch on migratory birds. Rapid-response teams had been constituted in case of any outbreak of the disease.
India has seen three outbreaks of bird flu in poultry since 2006. Cases of bird flu were last detected in Manipur in 2007. All the outbreaks were brought under control. ? DPA

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topi...=198694&version=1&template_id=40&parent_id=22

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[HenryN]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Bird flu continues to spread in West Bengal <!--Wednesday, January 30, 2008-->
Web posted at: 1/30/2008 1:36:27
Source ::: IANS

new delhi ? Bird flu continued to spread in West Bengal, and the virus was confirmed in three more blocks of Birbhum and Howrah districts though the state government said the situation was "under control".
"As per the latest report received from the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory, Bhopal (Tuesday morning), samples collected from Panchla block of Howrah district, Suri-I, Mayureswar-I and Nanoor blocks of Birbhum have tested positive for avian influenza," the union agriculture ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said that bird flu has been confirmed in the Kalyani municipality of Nadia district.
"It is gathered that the infection in new areas is not over a wide area but restricted to small pockets," the statement added.
The union health ministry said that in West Bengal a total of 42 blocks covering 2,600 villages and four municipalities were under surveillance. So far 1,998 cases of fever have been reported from the state, of which two people had a history of contact with poultry.
"Health workers are keeping a close watch on the situation. There has been no human infection so far," Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said in the capital.
In spite of the flu spreading to new areas, West Bengal Tuesday said it had received only one report of chicken deaths in a district adjoining Kolkata since Monday.
"There has been no report of any death of chickens in the state except for one at Baduria under North 24-Parganas district since Monday," West Bengal Animal Resource Development (ARD) Minister Anisur Rahman said.
"The ARD team has been sent to Baduria where bird deaths were reported from a private farm. If they are found unnatural, we will collect the samples for test and also start culling there," he said.
North 24-Parganas was so far unaffected by bird flu which has erupted in 13 of the 19 West Bengal districts.
Rahman said culling was continuing at Kashipore and Alampur panchayat areas of South 24-Parganas district, about 15 km from Kolkata.
While West Bengal has already culled 2.2 million poultry since the outbreak was confirmed Jan 15, Rahman said: "The situation is still a little worrying." "But the menace is now under control and the overall situation is improving," he said.
The 13 bird flu affected districts in West Bengal are Birbhum, South Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Nadia, Burdwan, Bankura, Malda, Hooghly, Cooch Behar, Purulia and Howrah, South 24-Parganas and West Midnapore. Bird flu was first detected in two districts - Birbhum and South Dinajpur - of West Bengal.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has described the bird flu outbreak in West Bengal as "serious".
Meanwhile, over 3,000 chickens were found dead in a ditch in Theni district, 30 km west of Madurai in Tamil Nadu. However, a government spokesman said: "There is no indication of bird flu at all." The state government said starvation was the cause of the deaths. Theni is 120 km west of Karur, the poultry centre of Tamil Nadu.
http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Di...=January2008&file=World_News2008013013627.xml

 

[HenryN]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Bird flu: Holes in govt?s claim of sealed entry points
No special squad can be seen at Ultadanga and Howrah ? two of the most vital entry points to the city for all kinds of poultry products
Express news service
Posted online: Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 0203 hrs IST
Kolkata, January 29
With North and South 24 Parganas also joining the list of the bird flu-affected districts of the state, Kolkata is almost encircled by the virus. The ministries concerned and the Kolkata Police claimed that all the entry points to the city have been sealed for poultry products, but a reality check by The Indian Express exposes a porous security set-up.
Several markets in Kolkata reported regular and steady supply of poultry products. ?Takers of poultry products are, of course, on the decline, forcing us to reduce our intake. Till date, no enforcement agency has come to us inquiring about bird flu or the supply chain. Only private poultry suppliers came to give us leaflets that say people can eat chicken and eggs after proper boiling,? said Gurupada Das, who has been running an egg stall in Hatibagan Market.
Shyamal Sarkar, who sells chicken on a pavement at Ultadanga, said: ?Sale is affected, but it has not stopped completely. I am selling chicken for Rs 25 per kilogram. Some people are buying because it is cheap.? He was seen squatting with two baskets full of chicken.
Chicken was available in most markets and retail outlets. No surveillance team of the Kolkata Police could be found at any entry point. The much-hyped combat plan that was announced on Monday seemed to be still ?on paper?.
The West Bengal Poultry Association, meanwhile, objected to the plan of the Kolkata Police to seal all entry points. Pleading anonymity, a spokesperson said the move would only broaden the police?s extortion network.
The state government has banned the entry of chickens and eggs from all quarters, barring the 12 poultry firms in the city. On Monday, the state government asked the Kolkata Police to mount the surveillance and implement the restrictions. The police announced a blueprint that included posting of special squads at the entry points, carrying out raids in city markets and other necessary steps.
When The Indian Express team visited Ultadanga and Howrah, no special squad could be seen.
At Ultadanga, only one traffic constable was seen manning the busy road intersections. When asked if he caught any consignment of poultry products entering the city, he sounded completely clueless. He said no instruction regarding interception of poultry products had been issued to him.
?I do not know if any such team is monitoring chicken supply. I have not been given any such order,? he said.
The Kolkata Police have earmarked 13 entry points ? Howrah Bridge, Ultadanga crossing, second Hooghly Bridge, Prince Anwar Shah Road, Bijon Setu among others ? which are to be manned by its men along with officers of the traffic department. Another set of team comprising officials of the KMC and enforcement branch are scheduled to conduct raids.
The teams are to check vehicles carrying chicken and poultry for proper documents, including vehicle chalan, a self declaration certificate claiming that the birds are flu free, and chalan for the chicken, clearly stating their origin and destination.
?We have received the government order on Monday. The teams have been set up, which will take some time to be fully operational. We have directed the enforcement branch to conduct joint raids with the civic body,? said G M Chakraborty, Kolkata Police chief.
?We are doing our best. We have drawn up a detailed plan, in cooperation with the KMC. Our checkpoints are being manned,? said Chanchal Dutta, DC (Enforcement Branch) and nodal officer for combating bird flu.

http://www.indianexpress.com/printerFriendly/266980.html

 

[HenryN]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Flu scare sparked off in Kaliachak III
Statesman News Service
MALDA, Jan 29: A team of doctors from National Institute of Communicable Diseases, New Delhi, has found many ailing birds with symptoms like Bird Flu at two villages in Kaliachak III block today and instructed the district administration to collect blood samples for its confirmation, the district administrative officials said.
The team led by the joint director, NICD, visited two blocks Kaliachak I and III, close to Bangladesh border, and held a meeting with the district officials. The team will visit other blocks, including Harishchandrapur and Chanchal, where the culling operation is going on after detection of Bird Flu virus.
The Malda SDO, Ms Arunima De, instructed the animal resources development officials for collecting blood samples from the ailing birds identified by the team at two villages.
?The ARD officials have been requested to visit the spot for collecting blood samples. The ARD team has already arrived at the spot today," said Ms. De.
The Malda SDO held a meeting with concerned block development officers to know the situation of Bird Flu situation. The BDOs have been instructed to report any fresh out break of Bird Flu like incident as soon as possible so that administration can take necessary steps immediately.
The state minister of forests Mrs Bilasi Bala Sahis and other forest officials today visited Tilason forest and a water body in Habibpur, close to Indo-Bangladesh border, where migratory birds come from different areas.
The Malda divisional forest officer, Mr Rajendra Jakhar, said: ?We are closely watching migratory birds in Malda forests and water bodies and every day we are sending report to the higher authorities?.
?But we did not found any ailing and dead migratory birds till date?, Mr. Jakhar claimed.
The divisional forest officer Mr Jakhar also said: ?There is no bird flu symptom in wild bird life in this district. When there is no bird flu symptom in wild bird in the affected zone, why will we cull them? If we found any symptom we must cull them.?
?There is large number of waterfowls stay in the river Ganges near Farakka Barrage. Though we did not detect any symptoms of avian influenza on them, we afraid of that the flu may affect waterfowls of Farakka Barrage from the domestic ducks of the region because these waterfowls forage in the paddy fields of Malda and Murshidabad districts at night?, said Mr Arunayan Sharma, director, centre of ecological engineering in Malda.
?We will extend our vigilance in the water bodies close to Farakka Barrage. Due to shortage of staff, the fisheries department is now monitoring local water bodies there?, said Mr Jakhar.

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=10&theme=&usrsess=1&id=187893

 

[Treyfish]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=left width="100%" colSpan=2>Bird flu confirmed in new area; bird deaths in 14th district

</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left width="100%" colSpan=2>KOLKATA, JAN 29 (PTI)
Bird flu in West Bengal today spread to fresh areas in affected districts of Howrah, Birbhum and Nadia, while a large number of chickens died in North 24 Parganas which is still not among the 13 affected districts.
In Howrah, poultry samples from Uttar Panchla village were tested positive at laboratory and fresh culling operation initiated within the five-km radius of the area, District Magistrate Khalil Ahmed said.
The administration had so far culled 1.5 lakh chicks in the district where bird flu had earlier been reported in two blocks - Sankrail and another village of Panchla block - in the past three days, he said.
In Birbhum, samples from Alunda village in Suri block-1 of Birbhum tested positive and in Nadia district, where culling has been completed, it spread to Kalyani, official sources in the districts said.
Animal Resources Development Minister Anisur Rahaman said the over 4,000 chicken died at Baduria in North 24 Parganas district, adjacent to Kolkata, with samples being sent to Bhopal. He said culling had been ordered in a five km radius of the fresh affected areas.
In Nadia district, it spread to Kalyani with reports from Harijan pally Ward number 2. Culling would begin from tomorrow, he said.
A total of 25 lakh chicken had been culled all over state, Rahaman said. "The target may be little higher considering the fresh outbreak, but we have asked the districts to complete culling by tomorrow," Rahaman said. The state government also sought information from Bangladesh on the strains of the avian influenza to source the origin of the viral infection. :tiphat: http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=540081
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[Treyfish]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=left>Still Current at: 29 January 2008
</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>Updated: 28 January 2008
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This advice has been reviewed with an amendment to the Health section(Avian Influenza). The overall Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)


On 15 January 2008, the Government of India announced that the H5N1 avian influenza virus was found in dead chickens in Margram, Birbhum district, a village approximately 280 km from Kolkata (Calcutta) in West Bengal. The virus has since spread to thirteen areas with confirmed cases in the following districts; Burdwan, Bankura, Birbhum, Murshidbad, South Dinaipur, Howrah, Malda, Nadia, Hooghly, Purulia, South 24, West Midnapore and Cooch Behar. Over 600 000 poultry birds have been culled and the West Bengal state government have authorised the culling of up to 2 ,300, 000 birds within a 10 km radius of the outbreaks. No human infections have been confirmed.level of the advice has not changed.:tiphat: http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front...7029390590&a=KCountryAdvice&aid=1013618387153

 

[Treyfish]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

<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>Tuesday,29 January 2008 22:52 hrs IST <!-- Added on 5/3/2007 starts --></TD><TD width=54></TD><TD width=61></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!--
--><!-- Added on 5/3/2007 ends --></TD></TR><TR><TD class=articleContentE vAlign=top><SCRIPT>document.title +=" - Poultry industry may get relief package"; </SCRIPT><!-- // New Layout -->Poultry industry may get relief package

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New Delhi: The Centre on Monday said it was considering a relief package for the poultry industry and farmers affected by the bird flu. "We are discussing the parameters of a relief package," Union Animal Husbandry secretary Pradeep Kumar told reporters here.

He said that the Agriculture Ministry has called a meeting of the poultry industry on Wednesday to take their view on the matter.

"Nothing has been finalised as of now," the secretary said adding the government was also separately considering a package for farmers, who had lost poultry both to the disease and culling operation. Kumar said that culling operations in West Bengal were expected to be finished in the next one or two days. The state administration needs to put more teams in Mushidabad as over four lakh birds still are required to be culled.

"As per the current estimate, the target is about 27 lakh including all the affected districts," he said adding in South 24 Parganas and West Midnapore culling needed to be started.

Stressing on the need for mopping and disinfection operations once the culling was over, he said the natural mortality of birds due to the virus has seen a dip, which was a good sign. "The natural mortality is not much except in Murshidabad, but still we are keeping our fingers :tiphat: crossed," he added.

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[Treyfish]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Authorities struggling to contain the spread of bird flu in West Bengal tasted some degree of success on Tuesday after the virus has for the first time, not been reported affecting new areas in the state where 13 of the 19 districts have already been hit. Culling has been in progress in Murshidabad’s Samserganj block and Chak Belcha village in Debra block of West Midnapore district where the outbreak was reported on Monday, officials here said.

However, culling operation suffered a setback in Coochbehar’s Dinhata block where workers engaged by the Rapid Response Teams stopped killing the afflicted poultry, demanding a raise in their remuneration from Rs 70. They resumed work after a hike to Rs 105. But in another incident in Birbhum district that was declared the epicentre of the present outbreak, some personnel of the Rapid Response Teams have left the area without a proper medical check-up. More than 185 personnel from the Animal Resource Development department who had arrived at Rampurhat left for home without any release order. “It was wrong on the part of these personnel to leave the place as they are supposed to be quarantined for observation following their exposure to culling activities,” a district official said.

Meanwhile, authorities in the city have put up temporary check-posts at various entry points to keep a vigil on entry of vehicle carrying poultry from the infected districts. “Except vehicles carrying chickens from eight farms "WAS 12"certified by KMC (Kolkata Municipal Corporation), corporation authorities will not allow any poultry product into the city or neighbouring Salt Lake,” a KMC official said.

The Salt Lake Municipality has banned sale of chicken and requested police to conduct raids in markets to monitor the business.:tiphat: http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Jan302008/national2008012949324.asp

 

[Diane Morin]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

602 people under flu watch in Malda

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Malda, Jan. 29: A door-to-door survey by district health workers in bird flu-hit areas of Malda has found 602 people with symptoms like fever, running nose and cough.

?We have detected 109 such people within a 3km radius of the affected areas in Chanchol and Harishchandrapur and 493 people within a radius of 3-10km. All of them complained of fever, running nose and cough,? said Radharaman Banik, the chief medical officer of health (CMOH) of Malda.

Outbreak of avian flu among poultry birds has so far been confirmed in Chanchol I and Harishchandrapur I blocks. Now, similar outbreaks are also suspected in Kaliachak I and Kaliachak III.

It is not yet known if H5N1 or the bird flu virus has infected some of these 602 people, but Banik said all of them were being kept under observation.

?We are opening a special ward in the Chanchol subdivisional hospital in case we need to admit any of them and we will also send their blood samples to the Bhopal laboratory,? said the CMOH.

A mystery fever is also stalking Malda town. D. Sarkar, the superintendent of the railway hospital here, said: ?We have been getting patients with high fever and chest pains and we are not being able to detect the source of infection. We have sent quite a few patients to B.R. Singh Hospital in Sealdah.?

However, no one has been confirmed with pneumonia, the known symptom of bird flu.

A team from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) in Delhi and experts from the All-India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Calcutta, arrived here today to study the situation.

The team includes NICD joint-director Shah Hossain and G. Sengupta, a microbiologist from the institute in Calcutta. The experts met senior district officials and, according to sources, gave a clean chit to the administration for the manner in which the situation is being handled.

The animal resources development (ARD) department, on the other hand, is getting ready to send culling teams to Kaliachak I and Kaliachak III blocks after birds started dying there in large numbers.

?The central team from the NICD has visited the areas and from the manner in which poultry birds are dying there, the experts are certain that it is a bird flu outbreak,? said Arunima Dey, subdivisional officer, headquarters.

All the nine block development officers in the Malda Sadar subdivision, including those of Kaliachak I and III, have been told to hold meeting with the panchayat pradhans and create awareness among villagers.

?We are also sending blood samples to Bhopal,? Dey said.

The subdivisional officer added that the Kaliachak blocks were adjacent to Bangladesh and the virus could have spread from the other side of the border.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080130/jsp/siliguri/story_8839936.jsp

 

[Treyfish]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

State intensifies ban on poultry imports<!EpnHeading3End>
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, January 29: The inter-State ban on import of poultry and their products being enforced yet again in the wake of recent outbreak of avian flu in the State of West Bengal has created panic in the neighbouring States and especially the consumers are found to be most affected with the sudden price hike.

In a drive against the inflow of poultry and their products into the State, at about 7.30 pm yesterday the city police seized 420 chicks from one Abhishek Shahu at Nagamapal.

Culling operations of the chicks imported from outside were taken up today at Porompat and to check the import of fowls and their products, Veterinary officials have been stationed at Imphal Airport, sources said.

Untill recently, though there was a meagre hike in the price of these fowls farmers could still manage with the import of chicks from Assam at their disposal.

But this time around, with stringent measures coming into effect in view of what has occured in West Bengal a stiff hike is likely to take place and worse still, for the consumers, poultry and their products could be out of stock in the market after few months.

According to Ningthoujam Ibungo who runs a poultry shop at Kwakeithel Bazar, the farmers largely depend on the import of chicks from either Kolkata or Gauhati, however due to the culling operations that recently started in West Bengal they had to totally depend on Gauhati products these few weeks.

But with this inter-State ban of import of poultry and their products being enforced we have no alternative to carry on our business as chicks being produced in some places in Manipur are not adequate in quantity and moreover such products are usually of no good breed and therefore they are not economically viable to deal with, he said.:tiphat:
http://e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=3..300108.jan08

 

[Treyfish]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Awareness programme on bird flu<!EpnHeading15End>
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, January 29: Joint Director of District Veterinary Office, Ukhrul has organised a one-day awareness programme on avian influenza to impart knowledge on bird flu at Kamjong Development Town Committee hall, Kamjong on January 28 .

The Joint Director, Veterinary, Ukhrul, who presided the programme delved into various aspects of the dreaded disease along with other resource persons.

Kamjong Headman C Ramzet and Kamjong Development Committee Chairman SD Lovingson graced the function as chief guest and guest of honour respectively.:tiphat: http://e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=15..300108.jan08

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01290804/H5N1_WB_Uva_Lake.html

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

H5N1 Sequences in West Bengal Similar to Uva Lake

Recombinomics Commentary 16:58
January 29, 2008

Health Secretary Naresh Dayal said the virus detected in West Bengal was somewhat similar to those found in Maharashtra in 2006, but not like those found from Manipur.

'We want to trace its origin,' Dayal too said, adding that migratory birds could not be wished away as the source of the outbreak in West Bengal.

The above comments on sequences from West Bengal are not a surprise. Sequences from the 2006 outbreak in India have been released and they are clade 2.2.3, which were also seen in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, and western Russia.

In the summer of 2006 there was a massive outbreak of H5N1 at Uva Lake. The number of dead wild birds was on a par with the outbreak a year earlier at Qinghai Lake. Uva Lake is the largest lake in Mongolia and is just south of the Siberian border at Tyva in Russia. H5N1 sequences from ducks and grebes in Russian as well as a whooper swan and common goldeneye were published. These sequences formed a separate branch of a phylogenetic tree.

At the end of 2006, the sequences were found in the outbreak in South Korea. In early 2007, they were only reported for Kuwait. However, beginning in the summer of 2007, the Uva Lake strain was found throughout Europe. In the summer it was in the Czech Republic, Germany, and France. By the end of 2007 it had been reported in Krasnodar, England in two separate outbreaks, Poland, Romania, and northeast Germany. In these locations, the clade 2.2.1 and 2.2.2 which had been seen in 2006 were largely replaced by clade 2.2.3.

Therefore, based on the history of H5N1 in India and south Asia, sequences related to the Uva Lake strain would be expected in Bangladesh, West Bengal, and Pakistan. Similarly, the recently reported outbreak in southern Tibet would also be expected to be related (see satellite map here and here).

Release of all of the recent sequences, as well as sequences from early 2007, would be useful.


.

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01290806/H5N1_North_Parganas.html

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

H5N1 Spread to Fourteenth West Bengal District

Recombinomics Commentary 20:15
January 29, 2008

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01290803/H5N1_Tibet_Southern.htmlNorth 24 Parganas Basirsat SD Baduria Block Salua village of Chatra Gram Panchayat

The above location of culled areas indicates H5N1 has been reported in the fourteenth of the nineteen West Bengal districts (see satellite map here and here). This location is about 20 miles to the west of Calcutta, which increases the number of Calcutta suburbs which have excessive poultry deaths due to H5N1 infections. The location of this cull, near the Bangladesh border, is not a surprise. Both countries have been reporting new outbreaks almost daily.

The level of testing in West Bengal remains low. Some media reports indicate the above cull may just be linked to excessive poultry deaths, signaling less reliance and use of H5N1 confirmatory tests.

The recent reports of alerts and excessive poultry deaths to the north, including a confirmed outbreak in southern Tibet, suggests more reports of H5N1 or excessive poultry deaths in West Bengal and neighboring districts or countries will continue.


.

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01290807/Midnapore_Goats.html

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

Dead Goats in Midnapore West Bengal Increase Concerns

Recombinomics Commentary 22:36
January 29, 2008

In Midnapore town, there was panic after seven goats dropped dead. The owner claimed he had buried the animals but couldn't show the burial place raising fear that the infected meat was sold.

The above comments raise additional concerns about H5N1 jumping to mammalian species, including goats. The goat deaths are following a pattern (see satellite map here and here). After H5N1 arrives and rapidly spreads through multiple villages, humans and goats develop bird flu symptoms. In the goats, the symptoms are associated with pneumonia and death. There have been reports of hundreds of goats dying in Birbhum as well as two locations in Murshidabad. Now the pattern is repeated in Midnapore, where H5N1 rapidly spread to 107 villages, virtually overnight.

After government announcements of control, there are new outbreaks reported. The latest involved thousands of chickens at a poultry farm in North 24 Parganas. Culling was order, even though H5N1 confirmation from Bhopal had not been received. The H5N1 is spreading rapidly, and outpacing the limited and slow testing.

The confidence in the testing continues to decline. Although patients are said to be negative, the linkage of suspect cases to massive domestic and wild bird deaths continues to suggest that H5N1 infections are significantly greater than stated in official reports.

The latest positives in North 24 Parganas add yet another Calcutta suburb with confirmed H5N1 or excessive poultry deaths. The infections in wild birds suggest efforts to keep H5N1 from spreading in Calcutta will fail, and testing thus far raises additional pandemic concerns.


.

 

[HenryN]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" bgColor=#ffffff border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=bbold14>Culling begins in North 24 Parganas district<!--/Fullheadline--></TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2 height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2>By a Sify correspondent
Wednesday, 30 January , 2008, 14:11 </TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2 height=8></TD></TR><TR class=ash12normal><TD bgColor=#ffffff colSpan=2><!-- google_ad_section_start=sify_article -->Kolkata: West Bengal on Wednesday began culling in North 24 Parganas district after many chicken died there.
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Preliminary tests conducted by the state government suggested presence of the virus that causes avian influenza in the district.
?We are awaiting the report of the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory, Bhopal. But since the union government permitted us to notify and start culling, we started the same after our tests suggested presence of the virus at Baduria in North 24 Parganas (barely 50 km from Kolkata),? West Bengal Animal Husbandry Minister Anisur Rahman said Wednesday.
He, however, said there was no fresh report of chicken deaths except for the private farm at Baduria.
If the Bhopal laboratory tests are confirmed, 14 of the 19 districts of the state will be under the grip of the deadly virus. Rahman confirmed that samples collected at Haringhata near Kalyani in Nadia district had tested positive. Bird flu was confirmed in three more blocks of Birbhum and Howrah districts Tuesday.

http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14597247<!-- google_ad_section_end=sify_article -->
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