India (incl. West Bengal) - Poultry (December 2008 -)

[HenryN]

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Follow-up report No.: 2​

Report reference: , OIE Ref: 7617, Report Date: 17/12/2008, Country: India​

Report Summary​

Disease​

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Highly pathogenic avian influenza Animal type Terrestrial​

Causal Agent​

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Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus Serotype(s) H5N1​

Clinical Signs​

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Yes Reason Reoccurrence of a listed disease​

Date of first confirmation of the event​

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27/11/2008 Date of Start of Event 21/11/2008​

Date of report​

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17/12/2008 Date Submitted To OIE 18/12/2008​

Diagnosis​

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Laboratory (basic), Laboratory (advanced) Date Of Last Occurrence 11/2008​

Number Of Reported Outbreaks​

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Submitted= 10, Draft= 0 Name of Sender of the report Mr Natarajan Gokulram​

Address​

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Dr Rajendra Prasad Road
Room No 231, Krishi Bhawan
New Delhi 110001
New Delhi 110001​

Position​

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Secretary to the Government of India​

Telephone​

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(91-11) 23 38 26 08​

Fax​

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(91-11) 23 38 80 06​

Email​

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secyahd@nic.in​

Entered by​

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Mr Natarajan Gokulram​

Outbreak (other report - submitted)​

State District Village/Block Unit Type Location Latitude Longitude Start date End Date​

ASSAM Kamrup Rajabazar Village Hajo 26,2 91,15 21/11/2008​

Species Measuring units Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered​

Birds Animals 51788 324 324 51397 ...​

Affected Population​

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backyard poultry mainly in a small village​

Outbreak (other report - submitted)​

State District Village/Block Unit Type Location Latitude Longitude Start date End Date​

ASSAM Kamrup Rani Village Patgaon 26,2 91,15 28/11/2008​

Species Measuring units Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered​

Birds Animals 7884 682 682 7202 ...​

Affected Population​

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backyard poultry mainly in a small village.​

Outbreak (other report - submitted)​

Printed on: Thu Dec 18 17:04:12 Paris, Madrid 2008 Page 1/5​

State District Village/Block Unit Type Location Latitude Longitude Start date End Date​

ASSAM Kamrup Rampur Village Sarpara 26,2 91,15 30/11/2008​

Species Measuring units Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered​

Birds Animals 168054 30 30 168024 ...​

Affected Population​

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backyard poultry mainly in a small village.​

Outbreak (other report - submitted)​

State District Village/Block Unit Type Location Latitude Longitude Start date End Date​

ASSAM Barpeta Gobardhana Village Katajhar 26,5 90,39 30/11/2008​

Species Measuring units Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered​

Birds Animals 10715 18 18 10697 ...​

Affected Population​

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backyard poultry mainly in a small village.​

Outbreak (other report - submitted)​

State District Village/Block Unit Type Location Latitude Longitude Start date End Date​

ASSAM Nalbari Pachim Nalbari Village Katla 26 91 30/11/2008​

Species Measuring units Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered​

Birds Animals 8406 75 75 8331 ...​

Affected Population​

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backyard poultry mainly in a small village.​

Outbreak (other report - submitted)​

State District Village/Block Unit Type Location Latitude Longitude Start date End Date​

ASSAM Kamrup Guwahati Farm Khanapara 26,2 91,15 05/12/2008​

Species Measuring units Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered​

Birds Animals 1231 112 112 ... ...​

Affected Population​

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a chick rearing farm​

Outbreak (other report - submitted)​

State District Village/Block Unit Type Location Latitude Longitude Start date End Date​

ASSAM Chirang Sidli Chirang Village Nilibari 26,35 90,38 05/12/2008​

Species Measuring units Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered​

Birds Animals 1500 399 399 ... ...​

Affected Population​

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backyard poultry mainly in a small village.​

Outbreak (other report - submitted)​

State District Village/Block Unit Type Location Latitude Longitude Start date End Date​

ASSAM Kamrup Bezera Village Jalah 26,2 91,15 06/12/2008
Follow-up report No.: 2. Report reference: , OIE Ref: 7617, Report Date: 17/12/2008, Country: India
Printed on: Thu Dec 18 17:04:12 Paris, Madrid 2008 Page 2/5​

Species Measuring units Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered​

Birds Animals 2500 500 500 ... ...​

Affected Population​

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backyard poultry mainly in a small village.​

Outbreak (other report - submitted)​

State District Village/Block Unit Type Location Latitude Longitude Start date End Date​

ASSAM Dibrugarh Dibrugarh Village Ward No. 6, East Revenue Circle 27,28 95,54 07/12/2008​

Species Measuring units Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered​

Birds Animals 120 120 120 ... ...​

Affected Population​

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backyard poultry mainly in a small village.​

Outbreak (this report - submitted)​

State District Village/Block Unit Type Location Latitude Longitude Start date End Date​

WEST BENGAL Malda Englishbazar Village Englishbazar 25 88,08 13/12/2008​

Species Measuring units Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered​

Birds Animals 2933 17 11 155 ...​

Affected Population​

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Rural backyard poultry.​

Outbreak summary: Total outbreaks = 10 (Submitted)​

Species Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered​

Birds 255131 2277 2271 245806​

Epidemiology​

Epidemiological comments​

Epidemiological investigation is ongoing. Stamping out of all domestic poultry is being applied in an approximately 3-km-radius zone around the outbreaks followed by compensation of the owners.
An intensive surveillance campaign has been launched in a 10-km-radius zone including:
- closure of poultry markets and prohibition on sale and transportation of poultry products in the infected zone;
- disinfection of premises after culling and sealing of premises where appropriate.
Restocking will be applied in accordance with a specific protocol.​

Source of the outbreak(s) or origin of infection​

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? Unknown or inconclusive​

Control Measures​

? Stamping out​

Applied​

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? Quarantine
? Movement control inside the country
? Screening​

To be applied​

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? Disinfection of infected premises/establishment(s)
? Dipping / Spraying​

Animals treated​

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No​

Vaccination Prohibited​

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No
Follow-up report No.: 2. Report reference: , OIE Ref: 7617, Report Date: 17/12/2008, Country: India
Printed on: Thu Dec 18 17:04:12 Paris, Madrid 2008 Page 3/5​

Country / Zone​

Country or zone​

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a zone or compartment​

Diagnostic test results​

Laboratory Type Name of Laboratory Species Test Type Date Results Provided Result​

National laboratory National Institute of Virology Birds reverse transcription - polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) 17/12/2008 Positive
National laboratory High Security Animal Disease Laboratory, Bhopal Birds reverse transcription - polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) 15/12/2008 Positive
National laboratory High Security Animal Disease Laboratory, Bhopal Birds real-time PCR 15/12/2008 Positive​

Future Reporting​

What further reports will be submitted in relation to this event?​

There are 10outbreaks that are still recorded as unresolved. It is not possible to declare this event resolved until these individual outbreaks are resolved.
The event is continuing. Weekly follow-up reports will be submitted.​

Follow-up

http://www.oie.int/wahis/reports/en_fup_0000007617_20081218_170411.pdf

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/12180801/H5N1_Malda_Spread_More.html

Commentary

More H5N1 Spread In Malda West Bengal
Recombinomics Commentary 11:39
December 18, 2008

According to sources in the district administration, unnatural deaths of many birds were reported on Wednesday from three gram panchayats in Ratua, nearly 20 km from Narhata, where culling is underway at present.

According to reports, around 900 domestic birds have died in Chandmoni I and II and Baharal.

The above comments strongly suggest H5N1 has spread from Englishbazar in Malda to Ratua Block I, which is on the border of Bihar (see zoomed map). H5N1 has been confirmed in Narhata in the northeast corner of Englishbazar, which is less than 20 km from Ritua Block I (the two blocks are separated by Ritua Block II).

Although H5N1 has not been confirmed in Ratua, the proximity to Englishbazar coupled with the large numbers of dead chickens and ducks, as well as hundreds of crows, supports the spread.

Bihar is on high alert, and protective culling is being discussed. In early 2008, when H5N1 was widespread in West Bengal, Bihar and other districts adjacent to West Bengal, including Assam and Meglahaya, instituted protective culling. Although H5N1 was not officially confirmed in these adjacent regions, many had unnatural poultry deaths and were likely H5N1 infected (see 2008 map).

Spread from Englishbazar would not be unexpected. Thousands of poultry had died in multiple villages prior to the start of culling, and dead birds were widespread and consumed by villagers, dogs, and crows.

In addition, H5N1 has been confirmed at two locations in northern Bangladesh, and the number of confirmed outbreaks in Assam has been large, and unnatural deaths have been reported in many areas throughout Assam (see updated map).


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[AlaskaDenise]

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/12180802/H5N1_Malda_Border.html

Commentary

West Bengal Seals Malda Border With Bangladesh
Recombinomics Commentary 14:01
December 18, 2008

"We have already sealed the border with Bangladesh along Malda district to check the spread of bird flu through chickens and ducks smuggled in from the other side," West Bengal's animal resource development minister Anisur Rahman told Reuters.

While there has been no recent outbreak in Bangladesh, India's impoverished neighbour suffered a severe bird flu epidemic starting in March 2007. Millions of birds were culled, costing the poultry industry hundreds of millions of dollars.

The above comments describe the sealing of the border between West Bengal and Bangladesh in the Malda area, which is unlikely to slow the spread of H5N1 in West Bengal. The same approach was tried in early 2008, but the subsequent West Bengal outbreak was the largest reported to date for India, and the reported spread in Bangladesh also accelerated in early 2008.

However, the comments on the lack of recent Bangladesh H5N1 outbreaks are in error. After a lull over the summer, Bangladesh filed an OIE report on a September outbreak in Noagaon, which is just across the border from the Malda outbreak (see updated map). Similarly, Bangladesh has just filed another OIE report which described another outbreak in Rangpur in northern Bangladesh which began on November 29, 2008, as well as an outbreak near Dhaka, which began on December 10, 2008. In addition to the OIE reports, farms culled in association with these outbreaks are reported on the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock website, which includes two farms in northern Bangladesh and four farms north of Dhaka (see expanded map).

The sealing of the border is unlikely to significantly reduce the spread of H5N1 in West Bengal. Unnatural deaths in Ratua Block I strongly suggest H5N1 has already spread to the border with Bihar, which is on high alert. Moreover, the hundreds of dead crows associated with the Englishbazar outbreaks suggest further localized spread is likely in West Bengal as well as Bangladesh.

Similarly, villagers are resisting the cull and hiding birds. Dead birds are being eaten by villagers and dogs, raising concerns of mammalian infections.

Thus, more spread is likely in West Bengal because H5N1 is widespread, and further spread by wild birds is virtually inevitable.


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[HenryN]

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Villagers get chicken from outside
Statesman News Service
MALDA, Dec 18: To avoid their business getting affected and to earn extra profits some of the locals have brought a large number of chickens from the various places that have not yet been declared affected with the virus and kept them in an abandoned poultry farm, the Malda district magistrate Mr Sridhar Ghosh said today.
The district magistrate has instructed the animal resources development (ARD) department and other concerned officials to identify the culprits and take action against them.
Earlier the district magistrate had sought clarification from the ARD for ?wrong information? during estimation of birds in the affected villages to be culled. The deputy director, ARD in Malda, Mr. NK ****, had informed the district magistrate there were no private poultry farm.
?Yesterday, during culling operation the RRTs found four private poultry farms and culled birds there,? said Mr ****.
Mr. **** said: ?We do not have any list or register of private farms in this district. Before setting up a private poultry farm people do not seek permission from our department because there is no such order from the government. As a result we are in darkness about number of private poultry farm in the region.?
The district magistrate, Mr. Sridhar Ghosh, said: ?Many private farms were not functional before Bird Flu but to earn more profit, some private farm owners have brought chickens from outside to keep in their poultry house?.
The private farms were set up with the help of panchayat members yet during the meeting not a single panchayat member informed about the private poultry farms.
Mr Ghosh, said: ?We would not waste time calculating how many more birds were culled in the private poultry farms. Today a total of 27 RRTs had culled all the birds in the affected villages?. Till late afternoon, we have culled more than 75 percent of our estimated number of birds to be culled in the affected zone ~ covering 3 km radius from the epicenter ~ Satgharia village under Norhatta Gram Panchayat in English Bazaar block, he said.

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=10&theme=&usrsess=1&id=236381

 

[HenryN]

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Bird Flu grips new areas in Malda
MALDA, Dec. 17: Amid slow-going culling efforts, Bird Flu is spreading in Malda. Hundreds of chickens have died in the Ratua block, about 10 km from Satgharia where the virus was first detected.
The Malda district magistrate has asked the animal resources development department to collect blood samples of the dead and ailing birds in the block. ?Fresh bird deaths have been reported from Chandmoni I and II and Baharal GP in Ratua within 10 km radius from the Bird Flu affected areas. ARD officials have left for the spot,? the DM, Mr Sridhar Ghosh said.
Meanwhile, culling operations were being hampered due to stray incidents of resistance from villagers. One member of a culling team was allegedly assaulted and heckled by villagers at Anandipur late this evening following an altercation. The incident prompted culling team members to demand police protection for the operations tomorrow.
Though the district administration has targeted to cull at least 16,500 birds in the affected villages, the progress is slow due to the villagers? resistance. Rapid response team members have been able to cull about 3,000 birds so far. Yesterday, 18 culling teams had been able to cull only 155 birds till late evening. Today, the district administration has added four more culling teams to complete the operation quickly. The district magistrate said that at least 12 more teams would join the exercise tomorrow.
The CMOH, Malda, Dr Srikanta Roy, said isolation wards have been set up in the district but till evening no avian flu affected human case was reported.
In Kolkata, state ARD secretary, Mr Dilip Chakraborty denied that there was any resistance from villagers to the culling operations. He said the problems yesterday had occurred as the administration could not arrange for funds to pay the villagers for their birds.
The West Bengal Poultry Forum meanwhile claimed that it is not bird flu, but a common disease which is afflicting chickens in the state. Mr Madan Mohan Pramanik, general secretary of the forum, meeting Mr Dilip Chakraborty, principal secretary, ARD, today at Writers? Buildings, alleged that some multinational companies were floating the bird flu theory to create panic and damage the price advantage poultry farmers of the state enjoy in the market.

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=1&theme=&usrsess=1&id=236273

 

[HenryN]

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=articleheader>Cull teams demand cop cover
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=articleauthor>OUR CORRESPONDENT</TD></TR><TR><TD class=story align=left>

Malda, Dec. 18: Culling teams in Malda refused to go to the Narhatta bird flu zone this morning without police protection, delaying the operation back by several hours.
Yesterday, teams that had gone to Anandipur and Durgapur were pushed around and chased by villagers reluctant to part with their poultry for half the market price.
The Malda district administration managed to convince the officials around 3.30pm to venture into Englishbazar and Ratua I blocks. Around 50 policemen escorted teams to six mouzas, only where authorities were expecting trouble.
Utpal Saha, a civil defence staff member who went to Budhia village today but was in Durgapur yesterday, said no policeman accompanied his team. ?The manner in which we were chased in Durgapur was scary. We hid in a bamboo grove,? he said.
Till 10.30pm, 6,100 chickens had been culled, district magistrate Sridhar Ghosh said. But later in the night it was found that seven farms with 15,000 birds within the 3km flu zone had escaped the culling teams? notice. Ghosh said: ?I don?t know how the (animal resource) department missed them.?

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081219/jsp/bengal/story_10273644.jsp​

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

[HenryN]

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=articleheader>Operations start after 3.30pm
Rivals allege bird smuggling
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=articleauthor>OUR CORRESPONDENT</TD></TR><TR><TD class=story align=left><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width=172 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>

</TD></TR><TR><TD class=articleauthor align=left>Birds being culled in Kotwali in Narhatta panchayat on Thursday. Picture by Surajit Roy </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Balurghat, Dec. 18: Villagers reluctant to have their poultry culled in the Englishbazar and Ratua blocks of adjacent Malda district have been ?smuggling? birds to South Dinajpur, the Trinamul Congress has alleged.
The district secretary of the party, Debashis Majumdar, said the alert issued in the district was just an eyewash. ?The actual situation is serious. We have information that the poultry is being smuggled in from Malda. If this is not stopped, the district is certain to be hit by the flu virus,? said Majumdar.
Reacting to the allegation, the karmadhakshya in charge of animal resources development (ARD) department in the Left Front controlled zilla parishad, Nandadulal Ghose, said: ?We are checking vehicles and rickshaw vans at Mehendipara, Dehabandh, Nalagola and Tapan. But if the chickens are being brought clandestinely through the village roads, it is a matter of grave concern. We will have to put on alert the gram panchayats in the areas adjoining Malda?s affected zone,? Ghose said.
He added that the panchayat members were being told to find out which households kept chickens for personal consumption and which reared them for commercial purposes.
?Even though monitoring is a very difficult task at the micro level, at least the gram panchayat?s intervention and queries will make the section of unscrupulous traders a bit more wary,? Ghose said. He said unscrupulous people always tried to take advantage of situations like this. ?However, if the common man was made to understand the dangers of allowing poultry to come in from the bird flu-hit areas, they themselves could keep an eye on the situation.?
The director of South Dinajpur?s ARD department, Sritanu Maity, said for the moment the district was not in any danger of being affected by the avian flu virus. He said his department was already on the standby with culling suits and teams.​

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081219/jsp/siliguri/story_10273330.jsp

 

[Shiloh]

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ulling_teams_in_Malda/articleshow/3859627.cms

Armed cops to accompany culling teams in Malda
19 Dec 2008, 0129 hrs IST, TNN

MALDA: A day after culling workers were attacked by some villagers in Malda, the district administration promised on Thursday that each team
would be accompanied by two armed policemen. The announcement came even as culling was extended by a day in the district.

"I have asked the SP to provide two policemen for each culling team to avoid any untoward incident from Thursday," said Malda DM Sridhar Ghosh.

The attack took place when a rapid response team went to Anandipur village on Wednesday evening. Villagers put up stiff resistance when they tried to carry out culling operations. Some of the team members were heckled.

Remembering the trauma the next morning, civil defence volunteer Utpal Saha Choudhury said, "We won't go for work." Many others shared his sentiments. Labourer Rahim Sabji said, "The villagers refused to give up their chickens and attacked us. We were lucky to escape unhurt. They even threw stones at us when we were fleeing."

Initially, it had been decided that one mobile police team would roam the area with one supervisor, who was in charge of three culling teams.

In Kolkata, animal resources development minister Anisur Rahman allayed fears about bird flu spreading elsewhere in the state, and said it was only in two villages of Malda where it had been detected. He said culling would be done over 3 km radius where the flu outbreak has taken place. It was decided that 25,000 birds would be culled.

He said there was no reason to worry and borders with Bangladesh and Assam had been sealed.

 

[HenryN]

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="articleheader">6000 chickens die, fear of flu spreads
</td></tr><tr><td class="articleauthor">OUR BUREAU</td></tr><tr><td class="story" align="left">

Dec. 19: Reports of more chicken deaths from Gajole block reached the authorities in Malda town today when they were planning to wrap up the culling operation in bird flu-hit Narhatta.
Gram panchayat pradhan Sahanur Biswas said 6,000 chickens had died in Gajole. “We have two women’s self-help groups, Rupali and Milan. Each member of the two groups had 350-400 birds. They were making good profit by selling the eggs. But they have lost all the chickens,” he said.
The animal resource development department deputy director in Malda, Nikhil Kumar sh1t, said: “We have collected blood samples from the dead birds in the Bairgachhi I gram panchayat area and have sent them to Calcutta for tests.”
Bairgachhi is only 5km from Narhatta. Most poultry birds within 3km of Narhatta have been culled.
A mop-up operation was about to begin to kill “4,000-5,000 chickens that the villagers have not handed over”, Malda district magistrate Sridhar Ghosh said. “Our culling teams will go on a house-to-house search for these birds.”
Sanctuary worry
The forest department in North Dinajpur is worried about the 90,000 migratory birds in the Kulik sanctuary because infected chickens might make it inside with picnickers who throng the place.
Raiganj divisional forest officer Ashis Sen said the department had been on alert since the outbreak in Assam, but with the disease confirmed in a Malda pocket 50km away, the worries have grown. “We are trying to keep the area clean. Everyday, our men are clearing droppings from beneath the trees and spraying the sanctuary with bleaching power.”
The biggest worry, though, is that chickens are clandestinely ferried to areas near the sanctuary by Malda traders. Picnickers bring live chickens into the forest and slaughter them, putting at risk the large population of open bill storks, cormorants and night herons.
“If there is an avian flu outbreak, it is likely that the birds will not return to the forest for many years,” the forest officer said.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081220/jsp/bengal/story_10278526.jsp​

</td></tr></tbody></table>

 

[HenryN]

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

updated map

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...25.700938,90.087891&spn=4.681244,6.723633&z=7

 

[HenryN]

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/12190804/H5N1_Malda_Spread_3.html

 

[HenryN]

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Villagers upset with govt rates
Statesman News Service
MALDA, Dec. 19: The villagers in the bird flu affected areas seems to be dissatisfied with the rate fixed by the government for the chickens to be culled. They resisted the government officials when they tried starting the culling operations earlier in the day today.
According to the villagers, the market price of a full grown chicken (called Morga or Kashia Morga) is between Rs 120 and 150 but the government rate is a meagre Rs 50. ?It is very difficult to pacify villagers when the culling team is paying Rs 50 for a full grown chicken to the villagers. The government rate Rs 20 for a chick is acceptable but the government should raise the current rates to avoid resistance,? said Mr Bishon Chowdhury, pradhan of Norhatta gram panchayat. The DM, Mr Sridhar Ghosh, listened to the villagers' demand and asked the staffs including panchayat officials to inform the villagers that the government would give them extra Rs 500 after a few months for rearing fresh poultry.
Quoting the animal resources development minister, Mr Anisur Rahaman, the district magistrate said that the government would give a package of Rs 1,500 for the rehabilitation of the affected people. Though the DM had issued an order to ban transportation of poultry in and out of the affected areas, it was found that more than 5,000 chicks were brought from outside to the abandoned poultry farms. It was reportedly done owing to the rates fixed by the government for the chickens that were to be culled. The government has declared Rs 20 for chickens less than 10 weeks old. It was found that in private poultry farms, especially broiler, the rate of a chick is Rs 7 but some people are asking for Rs 20 for each to earn at least Rs 13 extra per chicken. The administration made an announcement today that after the end of culling operation, villagers would be paid compensation during mopping which would start from tomorrow.
The district animal resources development department has adopted a novel culling method of dipping the heads of the chickens in dry ice (carbon dioxide). This method worked faster, according to the department officials.

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=10&theme=&usrsess=1&id=236895

 

[HenryN]

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

NBMCH on high alert
Statesman News Service
SILIGURI, Dec. 19: A red alert has been sounded at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in view of the recent outbreak of Bird Flu in some parts of north Bengal particularly Malda. Announcing this today the medical superintendent of NBMCH, Dr Samir Ghosh Roy, said that the medical college authority was gearing up to meet possible health threats following the state health department's red alert warning for the region.
?Though the flu has not yet assumed alarming proportions, we are not leaving anything to chance. Like last year the NBMCH administration is taking all kinds of precautionary and emergency measures to tackle the challenge at the local levels,? Dr Ghosh Roy said.
Further elaborating the steps being taken, the NBMCH superintendent said that a ventilator was being readied to meet any emergency. ?Besides, the ID ward is being transformed temporarily into an isolation ward to accommodate the flu afflicted patients,? he said.
Meanwhile, the president of NBMCH Junior Doctors? Council, Dr Bhaskar Roy, said that the medical college administration was not serious about making adequate arrangements to prevent accidental exposure as far as contagious diseases like the avian flu were concerned.
?We do not know whether the drug required to prevent the possible contamination by way of accidental exposure is in the hospital stock or not. Any exposure through the instruments we use while treating such ailments may prove fatal for the physicians,? he said.
?Besides, the gloves we use are often found to be either too large or too small in size. This may cause accidental transportation of the germs. We are much worried about our own safety, though we would not be found wanting in fighting the dreaded disease with all sincerity expected of us,? Dr Roy said.

Flu panic
Bird Flu panic gripped the Battoala area of Baneswar after locals spotted six dead crows this morning. Informed, the district animal resource development personnel went to the spot and sent samples from the dead crows for laboratory tests.

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=10&theme=&usrsess=1&id=236893

 

[HenryN]

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

State left to fend for itself
KOLKATA, Dec. 19: At a time when state animal resources development (ARD) minister, Mr Anisur Rahman, exposed the state's inaptitude in handling the Bird Flu situation by advising people to learn to live with the disease, the Centre has decided not to send any team of experts to monitor post outbreak operations in the region.
The Union animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries department officials said that the decision was taken since they expect the state to be experienced enough to handle the situation on its own specially when there was a flu outbreak earlier. But senior state ARD officials said that during the last outbreak, the entire culling, mopping up and operation of disinfection were carried out under the direct guidance of the Central teams. After the previous outbreak it was evident that whenever the state handled such situations on its own own, problems worsened. The callousness of the state was once again exposed when the Malda district authorities decided today to cull poultry birds in a few more mouzas which were left out when the initial plan was framed. Some senior officials of state animal resources development department (ARD) said expertise of the Central teams was required since the state is still struggling to carry out culling of poultry birds in a proper manner. A senior ARD official said: ?During the last outbreak, the Central teams, which were deployed here, repeatedly informed the Centre that proper guidelines were not followed here. This was evident, when the state was forced to order fresh culling operation in Murshidabad even after it had declared that the area had been culled completely.?
A senior official of Union department of animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries, told The Statesman: ?We won't be sending any team this time because we feel that the state is experienced enough to tackle the situation on its own.? n Pranesh Sarkar

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=22&theme=&usrsess=1&id=236935

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/12190804/H5N1_Malda_Spread_3.html

Commentary


H5N1 Spread To Third Malda Block In West Bengal
Recombinomics Commentary 21:39
December 19, 2008


Gram panchayat pradhan Sahanur Biswas said 6,000 chickens had died in Gajole. “We have two women’s self-help groups, Rupali and Milan. Each member of the two groups had 350-400 birds.

they have lost all the chickens

The above comments strongly suggest H5N1 has spread to a third block in Malda, Gajole (see zoomed map). The large number of birds and the proximity of Gajole to Englishbazar strongly suggest the H5N1 spread is outpacing the cullers and threatens to lead to H5N1 infections in new regions.

Gajole shares a border with South Dinajpur, while Englishbazar shares a border with Bangladesh, and Ratua-I shares a border with Bihar. The rapid spread to the three Malda blocks threatens the adjacent regions, as well as more distant regions. In Englishbazar hundreds of crows died, signaling H5N1 spread to wild birds.

Similarly, H5N1 was confirmed in dead crows in Guwahati, Assam, threatening spread to Meghalaya, while many species of wild birds have died in Nagaland, raising concern of more spread, especially when the temperature drops and more birds migrate south (see updated map).

Therefore, additional spread is expected.

.

 

[HenryN]

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Press Trust Of India

Malda, December 20, 2008
First Published: 14:04 IST(20/12/2008)
Last Updated: 15:49 IST(20/12/2008)



Over 20,000 chicken culled in Malda district


Over 20,000 chicken have been culled in West Bengal's Malda district where culling operation was continuing in some new areas while mopping up operation had started in those areas where culling has been completed, a top district official said on Saturday.
District Magistrate Sreedhar Ghosh said that around 20,875 chicken have been culled in 24 villages under Narhatta and Kotwali gram panchayat of English Bazar Block of the district till last night.
New culling operation was being carried out in some villages under Mahispathani gram panchayat area under Old Malda Block of the district today, the DM said.
Mopping up operation was being carried out in the 24 villages under Narhatta and Kotwali gram panchayat of English Bazar Block where culling had been completed, he said.
Asked about media reports of death of a large number of birds and chicken in Alinagar area under Bargachi I gram panchayat of Gajole Block of the district, Ghosh said "I have not received any fresh report of any deaths of large number of birds and chicken."
The DM was hopeful that the culling operation in the district would be over by tonight.



http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print.aspx?Id=fa636969-0de0-4f5a-9091-933249c57071

 

[HenryN]

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Poultry mortality in Bankura, Birbhum
Statesman News Service
NEW DELHI/KOLKATA/ SURI/BANKURA, Dec. 19: On a day the Union agriculture ministry issued a Press release saying that the culling at both the epicentres in West Bengal would be completed by tomorrow and that completion of sanitisation is targeted for 25 December, the death of 600 chickens over the past four days was reported in Ledason near Onda PS in Bankura district.
Animal resource department (ARD) officials today inspected the site of poultry mortality and collected samples for testing. The district administration has put the vulnerable blocks on full alert. The head of the ARD team that visited Ledason this morning, Mr Modak, said: ?The symptoms may have some resemblance to Bird Flu." The district had witnessed an outbreak of Bird Flu in Saltora and Mejia blocks last year. Bankura DM Mr Sundar Majumdar said: ?Onda was in the safe zone last year. Nearly 150 birds have died there.?
After Malda and Murshidabad, instance of unusual mortality of poultry birds have been reported from Birbhum's Rampurhat I and Bolpur blocks. Birbhum DM Mr Bisheswar Maity said ARD officials had sent samples of dead birds to Kolkata for tests. ARD officials insist that the birds do not display the symptoms of Bird Flu. In Dokhalbati village nearly 50 chickens died. Thirteen died in Naryanpur and 25 in Bolpur Kopai village.
The Centre today said that no fresh Bird Flu case had been reported from any part of the country, including Assam and West Bengal, even as more than Rs 1 crore has been given away as compensation to poultry farmers.
But the situation may well change because poultry birds have not been culled in a large part of Old Malda block, vulnerable to Bird Flu. The area falls within the three-km radius from the epicentre ~ Satgharia village in English Bazaar block, experts said. Malda DM Mr Sridhar Ghosh today asked the ARD to include the six left out moujas in Old Malda block in culling operations.
?Officials, responsible for earmarking areas for culling neglected to include six moujas in Old Malda block located on the other side of the Mahananda River. It was a mistake. The observer for culling operations from Kolkata, Mr Gopal Chandra Chakraborty, and two experts from NICED in Delhi spotted the mistake and advised us to include these six moujas in the Old Malda block,? the DM said today.
The deputy director of Malda ARD, Mr NK **** said: ?We did not prepare the map. Our duty is to cull birds and conduct poultry immunisation. Please speak to the DM or the land department about the lapse since they provided the map.?

 

[HenryN]

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=articleheader>Bankura alert

​

</TD></TR><TR><TD class=story align=left>Bankura: Over 450 chickens have died at a poultry farm in Onda block, 15km from Bankura town.

Vets went to Ledashon village today to collect samples of the dead birds. Bankura has a primary testing centre for bird flu, created after the outbreak in January. “If we find any indication of the flu, we will send the samples for further tests to Calcutta and Bhopal,” said Mihir Satpathy, an animal husbandry department assistant director.​

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081220/jsp/bengal/story_10278527.jsp​

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

[HenryN]

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Updated map

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=e...567108,89.263916&spn=4.63519,6.855469&t=h&z=7

 

[HenryN]

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Re: West Bengal - Poultry (December 2008 -)

Birbhum district map

http://birbhum.gov.in/MAPS/District.pdf