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

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths

Govt confirms bird flu in West Bengal


Posted online: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 1434 hrs IST
New Delhi, January 15:

The Centre on Tuesday confirmed an outbreak of bird flu in two districts of West Bengal, a day after the state government declared an alert in the area.

"Samples have been tested positive," a government official said.

The samples of the dead birds had been sent to High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) in Bhopal to find out whether the death of poultry was due to Avian Influenza, commonly known as Bird Flu.

"It is a localised occurrence of bird flu in the two districts of West Bengal namely Birbhum and South Dinajpur," the official said.

The Centre as a precautionary measure had restricted trade and movement of poultry birds in these two districts.

The Health Ministry had yesterday dispatched a team from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases to West Bengal.

The parallel samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune.

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[AlaskaDenise]

Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths

India confirms new bird flu outbreak is H5N1 strain


(Adds report of second outbreak, details, background)

MUMBAI, Jan 15 (Reuters) - The Indian government confirmed on Tuesday that the latest outbreak of bird flu in poultry in the country's east was of the virulent H5N1 strain.

"The strain is deadly enough to kill the birds," federal Health Secretary Naresh Dayal told Reuters by phone from New Delhi. "Our teams are already there. Now people will be monitored for flu-like symptoms."

It is the fourth outbreak of the strain in Indian poultry.

More than 18,000 chickens and other poultry have died in and around Margram village in West Bengal state's Birbhum district over the last couple of weeks, officials have said.

A second outbreak has been detected in the district of South Dinajpur, also in West Bengal but not neighbouring the other outbreak, said Anisur Rahaman, state minister for animal resources.

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.

In previous outbreaks, the virus has killed birds in the western state of Maharashtra on two occasions and broke out again in Manipur state in the northeast last August.

Although the strain can infect and kill humans, India has not reported any human cases so far. The disease has killed more than 200 people worldwide since 2003.

About 300 health workers in protective gowns and masks are going door to door to check villagers for fever and other symptoms.

For now, humans usually contract the virus only after close contact with infected birds, with the virus killing nearly two-thirds of the people it infects.

But experts worry it may mutate into a form easily transmitted from person to person, leading to a pandemic.

Around a fifth of humanity could fall ill should there be another flu pandemic, according to estimates cited by the World Health Organisation, with catastrophic effects on the global economy. (Reporting by Krittivas Mukherjee in Mumbai and Bappa Majumdar in Kolkata; Writing by Jonathan Allen)

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[HenryN]

Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=533 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=mainnewstitle id=withoutphoto vAlign=center colSpan=3>Bird flu outbreak confirmed in east India


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NEW DELHI, January 15 (RIA Novosti) - India's agriculture officials confirmed on Tuesday that an outbreak of bird flu in poultry in the east of the country was the deadly H5N1 strain.
"Now we can say it is definitely bird flu," Pradip Kumar, a ministry official, said adding that 250,000 birds would be culled
Kumar said bird flu cases had been reported in two administrative districts in the state of West Bengal. He said the outbreak was reported at private farms in the Birbhum District, some 250 km (160 miles) from the state's capital, Calcutta, and at a state poultry farm in a nearby district.
The affected area has since been cordoned off and is under surveillance, the official said.
In 2006, India reported a bird flu outbreak in the state of Manipur, in the northeast of the country. Hundreds of thousands of chickens were slaughtered at the time.
Although no cases of human-to-human transmission of avian influenza have been reported, scientists fear the virus could mutate into a strain that could pass easily from person to person, causing a global pandemic. More than 200 people have died worldwide from bird flu since the first fatality was registered in 2003, according to the World Health Organization.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20080115/96769717.html

[HenryN]

Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01150802/H5N1_West_Bengal_Spread.html

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths

Fresh bird flu outbreak in India, massive culling on the cards

by Sailendra Sil

India on Tuesday confirmed a bird flu outbreak among poultry following the death of thousands of chickens in the past week in the state of West Bengal.

It is the country's third outbreak since 2006 and the first since India, home to 1.1 billion people, declared itself free of the disease last November.

"The samples sent to the laboratory have tested positive for bird flu. It is the H5N1 strain," said agriculture ministry spokesman Manoj Pandey.

The poultry deaths were reported from farms in the state's Morgram village, in Birbhum district, 125 kilometres (75 miles) from the state capital Kolkata.

"Blood samples of the dead chickens in the village tested positive," said West Bengal's minister for animal resources development Anisur Rahaman.

An isolation centre had been opened in a hospital near the affected village and 300 health workers had been sent with medicines and protective gear, he said.

"Authorities have ordered the culling of the chickens and all poultry within five kilometres (three miles) of Margram village. The government will pay compensation," Rahaman said.

"Health officials have been asked to launch a campaign over public address systems and distribute leaflets," he said, adding "panic has gripped the village."

The Indian government, meanwhile, said 35,525 poultry in 102 villages of Birbhum as well as 288 birds in a state-run poultry farm in Dinajpur district died in the past seven days but added the outbreak appeared to be localised.

The state government has set up 60 "rapid response teams" for the culling and protective gear for 5,000 personnel was being sent to West Bengal.

"The state government has been also advised to seal its border with neighbouring countries and also the affected areas so that there is no movement of animals across these borders," the Indian government said in a statement.

Humans are typically infected by coming into direct contact with infected poultry, but experts fear the deadly H5N1 virus may mutate into a form easily transmissible between humans.

Wild migratory birds have been blamed for the global spread of the disease, which has killed more than 200 people worldwide since 2003.

India's state of West Bengal borders densely populated and impoverished Bangladesh, where authorities have been struggling to contain an outbreak of the virus.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080115/wl_sthasia_afp/healthindiaflu_080115142720

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01...al_Spread.html

Commentary

H5N1 Spread in West Bengal India

Recombinomics Commentary 12:34
January 15, 2008

A second outbreak has been detected in the district of South Dinajpur, also in West Bengal but not neighbouring the other outbreak, said Anisur Rahaman, state minister for animal resources.

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

The above comments describe the spread of H5N1 in India (see satellite map) and note the dead wild birds in the area, which is supported by video in news reports. Although H5N1 in wild birds in the area is likely, India has yet to detect H5N1 in wild birds, which is common in countries with poor surveillance programs.

Sequences released from the 2006 reported outbreaks are Qinghai strain (clade 2.2.3) and the proximity of northern India to Qinghai Lake and the migration of bar-headed geese from Qinghai Lake to the northern plains of India has been noted since 2005.

It is likely that the H5N1 in the current outbreaks is genetically linked to the outbreaks in Bangladesh, and are the Uva Lake strain (a sub-clade of clade 2.2.3).

Neither India nor Bangladesh have released sequences from the 2007 outbreaks. Sequence data from the current outbreaks would be useful.


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[Gert van der Hoek]

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

The bird flu spread to 150 villages

Avian flu spreads to S Dinajpur

State borders to be sealed

PTI & SNS

NEW DELHI/MARGRAM/BALURGHAT, Jan. 15: The Central government today confirmed an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in Birbhum and South Dinajpur of West Bengal. The Union health ministry has sent teams to the affected areas for contingency measures.

In all, 3.5 lakh (350,000 ,ed) and 26,000 birds are infected in Margram and Balurghat, respectively.

Mr Zakir Hossain, Birbhum?s Rampurhat-II panchayat samiti sabhapati, said the villagers had consumed 80 per cent of the dead chickens and the rest were dumped in paddyfields, ponds and by the roadside.

Panic spread in Balurghat, South Dinajpur, after the death of 300 chickens in the Balurghat government poultry farm over the past seven days. Culling of chicken begins tomorrow, district magistrate Mr Swapan Chatterjee said. The administration has sounded a red alert after the detection of the H5N1 strain in a dead bird.

A Union health ministry official said the samples have tested positive at both the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal and the National Institute of Virology, Pune. The Central government has restricted trade and movement of poultry birds in the two districts. It has asked the state to seal its borders with Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal.

A 35-member team from the animal resources department, Malda left for Balurghat today.

The deputy director of the animal resources department, Malda, Mr NK ****, said a disinfection programme is on. There was a bird flu outbreak in Bangladesh in April, last year. The BSF is spraying sodium hypo-chloride on the wheels of trucks entering from Bangladesh at the land Customs stations on the Indian side,? Mr **** said. Workers and officials of the Balurghat
government poultry farm today stopped the media from entering the farm.

The farm?s assistant director, Mr Mrinal Kanti Samadaar, said samples have been sent to the Regional Diagnosis Division, Belgachhia, Kolkata, for tests.

At Margram in Birbhum, the confirmation of avian flu comes at a time when the disease has spread to four blocks of the district. Experts are imparting training to the animal resources department for culling chickens.

At Muraroi village in Rampurhat-II block, nearly 10,000 chickens died. Rampurhat-I and Nalhati-II blocks are affected as also two blocks in Mayureshwar, besides the Nalhati municipality.

Teams from the animal resources department today only spread bleaching powder in the affected areas.

The teams noticed that the villagers are ignorant about the deadly virus. They were handling and feeding their chickens without taking precautions. It was found that the villagers consumed the dead chickens till last night.

Experts said earlier, bird flu was reported twice in India, in Maharastra and Manipur. But in both places, the disease was restricted to a particular place. But this time in West Bengal, the disease, it is feared, has spread to at least 150 villages in Rampurhat subdivision of Birbhum.

State animal husbandry minister Mr Anisur Rahaman said in Kolkata today confirmed the avian flu outbreak that requires the culling of 3.76 lakh chicken.

The birds have been affected by the H5N1 group of virus which is close to the virus of human influenza, thereby making humans prone to the birds flu, he added.

Transportation of chicken and eggs from these districts have been suspended. But there was no danger in consuming them in other parts of the state, the minister said.

The prices of the chicken and eggs may fall after the outbreak of this disease. But the poultry owners would be compensated for this temporary phase, from which they ought to soon recover, the minister said.
Reports confirming the fears of the state government arrived today, Mr Rahaman said.

Rs 1 crore has been allotted for Birbhum and Rs 25 lakh for South Dinajpur. The culling is scheduled to start tomorrow.
Rs 40 will be paid for every egg-laying chicken that is culled. Rs 30 will be paid against each culled chicken which was meant for meat.

Besides chicken, ducks and ?ornamental birds? including parrots and pigeons were also to be slaughtered, Mr Rahaman said. These birds, which may include pets, would be killed lest they become carriers of the disease, he said.

Trouble is not ruled out if the pets are culled, it was learnt. A three-to-seven-kilometre radius from the area of outbreak of the disease would be disinfected.

Meanwhile, a consignment containing 158 Bird Flu kits arrived at NSC Bose Airport on an Air India flight evening flight today. Another consignment containing 155 bird flu kits will arrive tonight, airport officials said today

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=1&theme=&usrsess=1&id=185918

This reports suggests the 2nd outbreak originates from a government farm? The first outbreak is related to a government farm too?

[HenryN]

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

Updated map

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=106484775090296685271.0004353ecc9cb8856de8c&om=0&t=h&ll=23.926013,88.209229&spn=4.076472,5.460205&z=7

[Treyfish]

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

Officials allay fears of bird flu</ARTTITLE>
16 Jan 2008, 0119 hrs IST,TNNMUMBAI: Even as Bengal confirmed an outbreak of bird flu, state officials said there was no need for citizens in Maharashtra to panic. They can continue digging into their chicken.

"Our routine surveillance of poultry is on in the state and no positive reports have been received from the laboratory in Bhopal," said Ashish Sharma, the commissioner of animal husbandry.

The health department is, however, on alert. "Following the outbreak of bird flu in Bengal, we have given instructions to all health officials to be alert," said director general of health services, Dr Prakash Doke. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/C...ow/2703369.cms

<!--google_ad_region_end=article--><SCRIPT type=text/javascript> var RN = new String (Math.random()); var RNS = RN.substring (2,11); var b2 = '<iframe src=""\"http://adstil.indiatimes.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_sx.ads/www.timesofindia.com/Stories/index.html/1'+RNS+'@Right3?\" WIDTH=255 HEIGHT=250 marginwidth=0 align="left" marginheight=0 hspace=1 vspace=0 frameborder=0 scrolling=no bordercolor=\"#000000\"> </iframe>'; if (doweshowbellyad==1) bellyad.innerHTML = b2; </SCRIPT>

[Treyfish]

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

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=NewsDetailsTitle>India announces outbreak of bird flu in W. Bengal, int''l border to be sealed </TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD class=NewsDetailsCategory>Health 1/15/2008 9:41:00 PM</TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=ArticleDetails><TABLE class=ImageFloat cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD class=pictureCaption id=tdCaption align=middle width=180></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>NEW DELHI, Jan 15 (KUNA) -- India Tuesday announced an outbreak of bird flu in its Eastern state of West Bengal and directed the state government to seal its boundary with neighbouring Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal.
"Our High Security Animal Disease Laboratory has confirmed the outbreak, and the government has sent 60 rapid response teams to the state for the initial ground work," Pradip Kumar, top official of Indias Animal Husbandry Department, told reporters here.
"The disease was confined to only two districts of West Bengal -- Birbhum and South Dinajpur," Kumar informed.
"West Bengal has been advised to seal the affected areas so that there is no movement of animals," an Indian Agriculture Ministry statement said here.
According to the Ministry, West Bengal reported death of nearly 35,525 poultry in Birbhum district and 288 poultry in South Dinajpur district last week.
No human infections have been reported so far, said Kumar, adding, "A plan has been prepared for the culling of the affected poultry. Funds are also available for compensation to the affected farmers".
In 2006, certain parts of Western Indian state of Maharashtra experienced bird flu. Last year, Indias Northeastern state of Manipur witnessed the bird flu outbreak. However, these were localised incidents and controlled successfully. (pickup previous) dr.bs KUNA 152141 Jan 08NNNN http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesP...08&Language=en</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[Treyfish]

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

<TABLE cellSpacing=8><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top>Bird flu panic hits India</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=middle> Kolkata, (IANS)
20,000 birds reported dead in a week, heavy culling to begin today

India yesterday confirmed an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 virus of bird flu in two districts of West Bengal as the state government said culling of the poultry birds in the area will begin today.
?We have confirmed from the samples that the poultry died of the bird flu virus,? said Pradip Kumar, secretary of the animal husbandry department in the ministry of agriculture.
?The Bhopal-based High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) has confirmed the outbreak and we have sent 60 rapid response teams to the state for the initial ground work,? Kumar said in New Delhi. He said the disease is ?confined to only two districts and mostly to backyard poultry.? Widespread death of poultry birds was reported from parts of Birbhum and South Dinajpur districts over the past 10 days. Thousands of backyard poultry in Birbhum region have died, prompting district authorities to sound an alert. Kumar, however, did not agree with a suggestion that the virus had come from Myanmar and Bangladesh. ?No, I cannot say that.?
He further said adequate manpower and medicines have been made available to the state government.
?We have given required directions and it?s up to the state government when they start the culling operation,? Kumar said after a joint monitoring group meeting of the agriculture ministry and health ministry in the capital.
Health Secretary Naresh Dayal said: ?We have given 6,000 Tamiflu tablets for people in the affected areas. Besides, an adequate number of masks have been given to West Bengal.?
?We are in touch with the state government and they have drawn a contingency plan as envisaged by us,? Dayal added.
Top officials of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) and the department of animal husbandry had on Monday rushed to the affected area. In Kolkata, West Bengal Animal Resources Development Minister Anisur Rahman said: ?We will start culling today after a notification yesterday. We just got the confirmation but the machinery of the state health department was already in action.?
?We have reports of 20,000 birds dying in just one week. While the deaths mainly occurred in southwestern Birbhum district?s Margram village area there are reports of poultry birds dying in South Dinajpur district in north Bengal too. Culling would take place in both areas,? he said.
?I cannot tell you now exactly how many birds would be culled,? Rahman said. ?Two blocks of Birbhum district ? Rampurhat I and II - are affected. In South Dinajpur bird flu was found in Balurghat area,? he said.?We will take all measures but we are urging the people of the state not to panic unnecessarily,? he said.
Reports of poultry bird deaths also poured in from adjoining Murshidabad district.
Earlier, a door-to-door inspection of people with suspected symptoms of avian influenza began in Margram village yesterday.
More than 20,000 chickens have died in Margram, about 280 km from here.
?We are sending our workers door to door in the affected region to find out if anyone was having fever above 98 degrees or having breathing trouble or is afflicted with pneumonia.? After a survey and monitoring we would be able to say if there are any cases among humans (of infection)," Birbhum chief medical officer Sunil Kumar Bhowmick said.
?We will keep an eye on people who were in direct contact with the infected birds,? he said.
?All chickens within a five-kilometre radius of the affected area will have to be killed. The government will compensate the owners,? Birbhum District Magistrate Tapan Kumar Som said earlier. Selling and buying chickens have been already banned in Rampurhat I and II and the Rampurhat municipal area in Birbhum. The virus causes a type of influenza in birds that is highly contagious among them and can be deadly. It does not usually infect people unless they come in close contact with infected birds or contaminated surfaces. This is not the first time bird flu has broker out in India.
In 2006, the spread of the H5N1 virus was confirmed in Nandurbar district of Maharashtra. Chingmeirong village of near Manipur?s state capital Imphal had witnessed the bird flu outbreak in July 2007.
After the culling of a large number of birds and other preventive measures in both cases, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had last year declared India ?free from bird flu?.
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http://www.bahraintribune.com/ArticleDetail.asp?ArticleId=187288&CategoryId=3

[HenryN]

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

Commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01150804/H5N1_Rampurhat_Spread.html

[Treyfish]

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

from the UK Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="100%"><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(/Xcelerate/graphics/images/fcomain/home/services/h_line.gif)" width="100%"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD align=left width="100%">
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=left>Still Current at: 15 January 2008
</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>Updated: 15 January 2008
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</TD><TD vAlign=top width="100%">India
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>This advice has been reviewed and reissued with an amendment to the Health (Avian Influenza) section. The overall level of the advice has not changed.

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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. A reported 15 000 chickens have died and the West Bengal government have ordered a cull within a 10 km radius.
On 26 July 2007, the Government of India announced that the H5N1 avian influenza virus was found in a poultry farm in Chingmeirong on the outskirts of Imphal, the state capital of Manipur. Over 130 chickens have died and the Manipur state government has authorised the culling of 150,000 chickens and other livestock within a 5km radius of the outbreak. In March 2006, the Government of India stated that the virus had also been found in domestic poultry in Ichhapur village in the Burhanpur district of Madhya Pradesh. This was close to the Jalgoan region of Maharastra where the first Indian outbreak was reported in February 2006. In the same month, tests confirmed that the virus was present in domestic poultry in Surat, Gujarat, a few kilometres away from Navapur. No human infections or deaths have been confirmed.

The risk to humans from Avian Influenza is believed to be very low. As a precaution you should avoid visiting live animal markets, poultry farms and other places where you may come into close contact with domestic, caged or wild birds; and ensure poultry and egg dishes are thoroughly cooked.

You should read this advice in conjunction with Avian and Pandemic Influenza Factsheet, which gives more detailed advice and information. http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?...=1013618387153

[Treyfish]

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

Nothing from any U.S. Embassy sites yet.

[Treyfish]

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

2 CHILDREN ILL Still clueless at Ground Zero as bird flu spreads in Bengal
Ravik Bhattacharya

Posted online: Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 0042 hrs
Culling starts today after Centre confirms H5N1; fingers point to Bangla as source of outbreak

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MARGRAM (WB), JAN 15: With the Centre today confirming the outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in two districts of West Bengal, the Health Ministry sent two more teams to the affected areas while the state government formed 60 rapid response teams to meet the challenge as the flu spread to new areas.
Dilip Das, West Bengal?s Director, Animal Resources Development Department, said the culling of birds would begin tomorrow. In Birbhum district, an estimated 350,000 birds would be killed while in South Dinajpur, culling would take place in a five km radius and some 25,000 birds would be destroyed.
Specially trained teams would dig up pits where villagers would be told to throw the birds and collect receipts for the losses sustained. The government has announced Rs 1 crore compensation for Birbhum residents and Rs 26 lakh for South Dinajpur. Locals will be told not to rear poultry for the next six months.
Officials said this outbreak was different from the earlier ones in the country because the affected birds were the domestic, country-bred variety. They said the outbreak source pointed to neighbouring Bangladesh. Cross-border traffic is rampant at Margram and Balurghat in South Dinajpur and people routinely carry livestock.
According to officials, bird flu was first detected in Rampurhat but has now spread to all eight blocks of the sub-division. Even Murshidabad district has reported dead birds.
The slow response to the outbreak is being blamed for the spread of the disease. A large number of birds have died in Nalhati blocks 1 and 2, Muraroi 1 and 2, Rampurhat 1 and 2, and Mayureshwar. The disease has also spread to Khargram in Murshidabad, bordering Margram.
?We are doing what we can. The problem has spread to neighbouring areas, including other blocks of the sub-division and the neighbouring district. A large number of chicks have died. We are drawing up a plan to contain and combat. Culling was not done today, but will start shortly. We have opened a control room and are training 600 people who will visit villages for culling operations. Some teams were sent to the villages for a survey today. We have also sent teams to spray disinfectant,? said Dilip Das who is heading the operations here.
Dr Sunil Bhowmick, Birbhum?s chief medical officer, said: ?We are training 50 teams of five members each. They will soon go house-to-house to spread awareness. We are also opening one or two isolation wards.?
At Margram, the backyard poultry population is estimated to be around 150,000. Nearly 90 per cent of this stock is dead ? dead birds still litter the area though many have been buried.
When The Indian Express visited the Margram primary health centre, only a few staff members were present and they had no idea about the flu or the threat. The centre, the nearest health facility for villagers, had no stocks of the Tamiflu drug. Nor was there any protective gear for the staff.
?We have heard about the bird flu outbreak but there has been no official communication. No material or medicine has reached the centre,? said Sovarani Das, the nurse on duty.
In the village, it was the same picture of ignorance ? children played next to the dead birds. Two children, who feasted on dead birds 10 days ago, are ill and a health team, led by the Block Medical Officer of Health, visited the Malibagan Para.
Dr Abhijit Chakraborty, BMOH, said they had visited the house of Ghaffar Sheikh. ?We have noted what has happened. We are keeping a watch on the children as they are most vulnerable in this case,? said Dr Chakraborty.
The children were identified as Anarul Sheikh (7) and Tumpa Khatun (8). Their father said ?all the birds died, we cooked and ate two of them, later the children had high fever.?
In other areas like Mahipara in Margram, the situation is the same. ?No health official has visited us so far. Village leaders told us that some kind of a disease is killing our chicken. No awareness camps have been held here. I had 13 birds, they are all dead,? said Sheikh Shamsher of Mahipara.
As culling starts tomorrow, a team of experts from the Union Health Ministry will start collecting throat swabs of people showing ?unusual? symptoms. ?The swabs will be collected and taken either to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) or National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) for investigation. This is to keep a tab on the health situation of the people in the area,? said Dr Shiv Lal, Director, NICD. The Centre, as a precautionary measure, restricted trade and movement of poultry birds in these two districts. ?The Bengal government was also advised to seal the border with neighbouring countries and also the affected areas so that there is no movement of animals across these borders,? an official statement added.

http://www.indianexpress.com/story/261989.html