Ronan Kelly
Retired 2020
UN experts sceptical of H5N1 attack on crows
- 2-day workshop on influenza threats; animal lab in Kanke on anvil
OUR CORRESPONDENT
The lethal avian influenza virus H5N1 may not be responsible for crow deaths in Jharkhand, a team from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations said on Thursday.
The observation is in direct contradiction of lab reports from Indian Veterinary Research Institute?s (IVRI) Bareilly centre, which after testing dead crow samples last December issued an H5N1 alert.
Paul White, the officer-in-charge of the FAO team currently touring Jharkhand, insisted that if the virus were indeed H5N1, it would have spread to other animals and also human beings. His claim is contrary to a theory of possible mutation that can restrict a viral strain to a particular species.
?It is hard to digest that H5N1 is responsible for crow deaths (more than 4,000 scavengers have died across Jharkhand in the past three months). The birds died of attack on their brains, which can be because of some disease in this particular species of scavenger, old age or toxic contaminants. We are studying it all,? White, who is in the state for the third time in quick succession, said. He added special teams were spending time in Jharkhand to understand the local ecology in a better way.
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http://telegraphindia.com/1120120/jsp/jharkhand/story_15028486.jsp
- 2-day workshop on influenza threats; animal lab in Kanke on anvil
OUR CORRESPONDENT
The lethal avian influenza virus H5N1 may not be responsible for crow deaths in Jharkhand, a team from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations said on Thursday.
The observation is in direct contradiction of lab reports from Indian Veterinary Research Institute?s (IVRI) Bareilly centre, which after testing dead crow samples last December issued an H5N1 alert.
Paul White, the officer-in-charge of the FAO team currently touring Jharkhand, insisted that if the virus were indeed H5N1, it would have spread to other animals and also human beings. His claim is contrary to a theory of possible mutation that can restrict a viral strain to a particular species.
?It is hard to digest that H5N1 is responsible for crow deaths (more than 4,000 scavengers have died across Jharkhand in the past three months). The birds died of attack on their brains, which can be because of some disease in this particular species of scavenger, old age or toxic contaminants. We are studying it all,? White, who is in the state for the third time in quick succession, said. He added special teams were spending time in Jharkhand to understand the local ecology in a better way.
...
http://telegraphindia.com/1120120/jsp/jharkhand/story_15028486.jsp