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India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 13 - Jan 20
Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths; H5N1 confirmed
Caution, not panic, is the guideword Arun Ram
Thursday, January 17, 2008 04:30 IST
CHENNAI: Scientists at the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) in Bhopal are peering into the microscopes to ascertain if the H5N1 strain responsible for the bird flu outbreak in West Bengal poses any danger to humans.
Strains of the last two outbreaks ? in Nandurbar, Maharashtra, in Feburary 2006 and Chingmeirong, Manipur, in July 2007 ? though different, belonged to the HPAI (high pathogenic avian influenza) variety. Scientists do not rule out the probability of the virus having mutated to a new strain, but with no human infection reported so far, caution, not panic, is the guideword. ?We have initiated genetic sequencing of the viral strain and only after the process is complete ? in more than a week ? we will be able to ascertain the pathogenicity of the strain. The strain we isolated from Manipur last year showed a tendency to adapt to (infect) humans, which is dangerous,? HSADL joint director AC Dubey told DNA.
While the 2006 strain in India was found similar to the one responsible for the outbreak in Vietnam and Thailand, the 2007 outbreak in Manipur saw the Qinghai strain, which can mutate to survive in the human nose.
Like in 2006, the outbreak this time coincides with the peak period of migratory birds in India. ?Migratory birds are the prime suspects whenever there is an outbreak of bird flu. Though many of them do not suffer from the disease, they can be silent carriers of the virus. We are doing tests,? Dubey said. http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1145653
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="98%" align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=title width="100%">400,000 birds culled in India </TD></TR><TR><TD class=body vAlign=top width="100%"><!--body text-->KOLKATA: Health officials in the eastern state of West Bengal yesterday began the slaughter of tens of thousands of chickens, a day after New Delhi confirmed an outbreak of the deadly avian flu in the region.
"The culling of chickens has just started in the core areas like Margram where the disease was first detected," state animal resources minister Anisur Rahaman said.
The state government has put together 55 rapid response teams to slaughter more than 400,000 chickens in the area.
The agriculture ministry announced the cull after confirming poultry deaths due to the H5N1 strain last week.
The state borders Bangladesh, where authorities have been struggling to contain an outbreak of the virus.
New Delhi said 35,525 poultry in Birbhum district and 288 birds in Dinajpur district had died, but added the outbreak appeared to be localised.
This is the third outbreak of the avian flu in India since 2006.
l In Bangladesh, bird flu was yesterday reported in another district, Barishal in the south, forcing authorities to cull 1,531 birds.
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Please do not ask me for medical advice, I am not a medical doctor.
Avatar is a painting by Alan Pollack, titled, "Plague". I'm sure it was an accident that the plague girl happened to look almost like my twin.
Thank you,
Shannon Bennett
Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths; H5N1 confirmed
What causes me considerable concern, is that first this virus is wiping out a considerable portion of the protein supply, then it may provide considerable incentive for people to quarantine themselves in their homes - without a ready protein supply.
Kind of a viral "scorched earth" policy.
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"The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation
It may be a sheer coincidence that chicken was not served at the CPI(M) state conference at Mahajati Sadan on Wednesday, but the bird flu panic has certainly hit the local market.
Prices in the wholesale market have dropped, caterers complained that customers are canceling orders, roadside eateries and restaurants alleged that there was a sharp decline in their sales and city hospitals have stopped offering chicken and eggs to patients.
The state poultry industry, which have a large market in neighbouring Jharkhand and Bihar, is in a sticky situation as both states have imposed a blanket ban on the import of Bengal chicks following the outbreak of the dreaded disease. The West Bengal government has already ordered culling of chickens, principal secretary, animal resource development department, Dilip Chakraborty, said at Writers? Buildings on Wednesday.
According to Chakraborty, the state exports approximately 40,000 chicks to Jharkhand and 60,000 to Bihar every day. The ban on the import has virtually put the state poultry industry in quandary. The state information and culture department, of which Chakraborty is the principal secretary, would be issuing an advertisement, both in the electronic and print media so that the state poultry industry does not face a similar experience, as it had experienced two years back. Md Kamaluddin, who sells chicken in New Market said, ?Everyday I sell around 200 kilograms, but today I have sold only about 125 kilograms. If the trend continues then the prices will drop sharply, as it happened in 2004 and 2006.?
The scenario in the wholesale market was, however, little different. Prices have already dropped by at least three rupees and hatchery owners are blaming it on dealers and middlemen. Assistant secretary of West Bengal Poultry Welfare Association, Nazrul Islam said, ?It is the middleman and dealers who are pressurising to cut down the prices?.
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"The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation
There is no need to panic, but it is too early to relax. There is absolutely no alternative to fighting bird flu relentlessly. It has broken out in Birbhum and South Dinajpur, and although the virus has not mutated within humans (as it had in 1918, killing 40 million people all over the world), prompt action is the only way to prevent a disaster in a densely populated country like India. Almost 40,000 chickens have died over ten days, and from yesterday the culling of about 3.5 lakh country and broiler chickens, ducks and pet birds has begun. Apart from ensuring the thoroughness of this operation, the government will have to be alert on several fronts. Most of the affected poultry belong to poor rural and suburban families, where the birds mingle freely with human beings, especially children. The government must have a clear sense of how to keep poor and mostly illiterate people properly informed about what sort of precautions to take and what to look out for.
What is needed is vigilance as well as sensitivity. To most people, the poultry they keep at home are precious sources of earning, and the flu itself, in spite of the dying birds, is less real than the threat of losing one?s livelihood (main or supplementary) for a few months. So, the compensation money for the culled birds must be properly distributed ? without avarice, corruption or mismanagement.
Basic habits of hygiene, like washing hands, burying dead birds properly and protecting children, should be instilled without delay, and proper channels of communication thought out for this using local networks and institutions. Ignorance and frayed nerves must be handled alike with care, but with firmness as well.
Larger farms and hatcheries, no matter how privatized and state-of-the-art, should be kept within the purview of vigilance. An eye towards profit, or fear of losing custom, must not deter large-scale stakeholders from following stringent regulations. There must also not be any suppression of information, however alarming. The movement of poultry and the patrolling of the border, though easier said than done, should certainly be a priority. Given the regularity with which bird flu breaks out in India, most of the preventive measures should become a matter of habit among poultry-owners rather than being perceived and practised as emergency measures.
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"The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation
Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths; H5N1 confirmed
Bird deaths not caused by bird flu, but by a virus locally known as Ranikhet ???
-------------------------------------------- New bird deaths reported in east India
CALCUTTA, India - Health officials Thursday investigated new bird deaths in eastern India to check whether bird flu was spreading to additional areas despite a poultry cull aimed at curbing the disease.
Hundreds of bird deaths were reported in four new districts of West Bengal state on Wednesday after an outbreak of bird flu killed more than 54,000 birds in nearby Birbhum and Dinajpur districts, said Anisur Rahman, state minister of animal husbandry.
Rahman said the symptoms in the new deaths, which all occurred in areas close to each other, suggested they were not caused by bird flu, but by a virus locally known as Ranikhet ? a contagious and fatal disease affecting all species of birds but with no record of attacking humans.
"But we are not taking chances and have sent samples to laboratories for testing for bird flu," he told The Associated Press.
The new areas under watch are in Nadia, Murshidabad, Burdwan and South 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal state, Rahman said.
The culling of chickens started on Wednesday, a day after the federal government confirmed that the birds in two West Bengal districts were infected with the H5 strain of bird flu, and tests were under way to determine whether it was the virulent H5N1 subtype.
No human deaths or unusual illnesses have been reported in the region, Rahman said Thursday.
About 400,000 chickens were being slaughtered the affected areas. Health workers were also going door-to-door in the areas looking for people with high fevers or breathing trouble.
An outbreak of the H5N1 virus hit western India in 2006, but India declared the country bird flu-free after slaughtering hundreds of thousands of chickens. No human cases were reported. A smaller outbreak in northeastern India was contained last year.
The H5N1 virus has afflicted more than 60 countries, forcing the slaughter of hundreds of millions of birds since it began ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003.
It is now entrenched in several countries, including Indonesia, Egypt and Nigeria, and has killed at least 206 people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.
The virus remains hard for people to catch, but experts fear it may mutate into a form that spreads easily among humans, potentially sparking a pandemic. So far, most human cases have been linked to contact with infected birds.
Villagers bring in their birds for culling in Pathna village, Margram, in the Indian state of West Bengal, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008. Health workers slaughtered tens of thousands of chickens Wednesday after an outbreak of bird flu killed more than 35,000 birds in eastern India, officials said. (AP Photo)
"The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width="41.4%" align=left border=0><COLGROUP><COL width="100%"></COLGROUP><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: white; valign: top" width="100%">
</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: white; valign: top" align=left width="100%">A WB government designated official culls private poultry stock in Margram, Bibhum district
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The World Health Organisation or WHO has warned that India has big trouble on its hands - hinting that the Bird Flu outbreak could perhaps be one of the worst ever, more severe than previously encountered.
A WHO statement released today (January 17) reads:
"More serious risk factors are associated with this current outbreak than previously encountered, including that the affected areas are more widespread and because of proximity to extended border areas."
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar meanwhile has said today that an alert has been sounded not only in West Bengal but across the country.
"We have taken strong measures to counter the Bird Flu threat from the Bangladesh border. We have passed on all information to the West Bengal government and sounded a countrywide alert. International guidelines are being followed in the culling operations in West Bengal," said Pawar.
The statement comes after the Centre, facing a crisis and coming under harsh criticism for its handling of the outbreak, began a blame game yesterday alleging that the state government had pressed the alarm button at least a week after it received information about abnormal poultry deaths in the state.
TIMES NOW has been told that the WB government sat quiet for a week in willfull controvention of rules which state that the Centre must be informed about unexplained and largescale bird deaths within 24 hours.
The West Bengal government reported the fact that chickens were dying in Birbhum and South Dinajpur districts of the state on January 11, whereas the first report of the deaths came to state health officials on January 4. Timeyl action could thus not be taken to limit the outbreak which may have already spread to neighbouring districts like Hoogly, South 24 Paraganas and Murshidabad.
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"The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation
I believe the documented China numbers were much higher a couple of years ago.
The outbreaks in West Bengal are primarily "bakyard poultry" and therefore instead of 35,000 birds coming from one farm, they come from more than 100 villages. 100 villages with H5N1 developing over a short period (1-2 weeks) is H5N1 "out of control".
Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths; H5N1 confirmed
India and Bangladesh try to contain bird flu outbreak as new deaths reported
2008-01-17 10:52:05 -
CALCUTTA, India (AP) - India and Bangladesh searched for new cases of bird flu Thursday as authorities pressed ahead with plans to slaughter hundreds of thousands of birds in a bid to keep the outbreak from spreading, officials said.
No human cases have been reported since the latest outbreak of bird flu was first discovered earlier this week. But nearly 56,000 birds have died from the disease in eastern India, where authorities have began slaughtering another 400,000 animals, most of them chickens. In Bangladesh, officials say about 20 birds have died and another 1,700 have been slaughtered.
Bangladeshi authorities say the outbreak in that country, which has so far been limited to a single poultry farm, is the H5N1 strain of the disease. In India, where the outbreak is more widespread, authorities say they are still conducting tests to determine what strain of bird flu killed the animals.
The outbreaks are in adjacent areas of the neighboring countries.
There was also uncertainty in India on Thursday about an undetermined number of new bird deaths in areas near the center of the outbreak in a rural region in the southwestern part of India's West Bengal state. Bangladeshi authorities were also searching for other cases of bird deaths.
While bird flu seemed to be the obvious culprit in the new deaths in West Bengal, the state's animal husbandry minister, Anisur Rahman, cautioned the symptoms indicated Newcastle disease, known locally as Ranikhet, a fatal respiratory virus that is not known to attack humans.
?But we are not taking chances and have sent samples to laboratories for testing for bird flu,? he told The Associated Press.
<!--APPIC-->Apart from slaughtering birds in areas where bird flu has been confirmed, health workers were also going door-to-door, looking for people with high fevers or breathing trouble, he said.
An outbreak of the H5N1 virus hit western India in 2006, but India declared the country bird flu-free after slaughtering hundreds of thousands of chickens. No human cases were reported. A smaller outbreak in northeastern India was contained last year.
Bird flu was first detected in Bangladesh in February 2007 at a poultry farm near the capital. Since then, authorities have slaughtered more than 300,000 chickens _ including 19,000 killed during another outbreak earlier this month _ at about 90 farms across the country. Nearly 360,000 eggs have been destroyed.
Bird flu has killed at least 217 people worldwide since it began ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003. It remains hard for people to catch, but experts fear it will mutate into a form that spreads easily among humans, potentially sparking a pandemic. So far, most human cases have been linked to contact with infected birds. <!-- COM9_20080117090559498.txt -->
Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths; H5N1 confirmed
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>From rxpgnews.com Medical News Culling operations halted in bird flu epicentre By IANS, Jan 17, 2008 - 10:49:34 AM
Kolkata, Jan 17 - Culling of poultry at the epicentre of West Bengal's bird flu epidemic was halted Thursday morning, as officials sent dead poultry from a new area to confirm if these had also been infected by the deadly H5N1 strain of the flu virus.
Workers of the state health department halted the cull after one of them alleged that policemen had assaulted him in Rampurhat area of Birbhum district, a local television channel reported.
Even before this incident in the middle of a situation where experts say quick culling is essential to prevent spread of the disease, the cull had been slothful.
West Bengal Animal Resources Development Minister Anisur Rahman told IANS Thursday morning that 8,000 birds had been culled in Birbhum district since the operation started Wednesday, and 10,000 in Balurghat area of South Dinajpur district.
'The process is slothful because the teams are not going to big farms but visiting house to house and killing backyard poultry. We are beefing up the operation on Thursday,' Rahman added.
The minister admitted that bird flu has spread to new areas in Birbhum district and adjoining Murshidabad district. The three districts now affected are Birbhum, South Dinajpur and Murshidabad.
'The new areas are Khargram in Murshidabad and two blocks and Rampurhat municipality area of Birbhum,' Rahman said. The officials have however not yet confirmed if the bird flu virus in Murshidabad is of the H5N1 strain. They have sent samples to the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory - in Bhopal for confirmation.
As a result, no culling has started in Murshidabad district yet. The affected areas in the district abut Birbhum district.
A bird flu scare has also spread to South 24 Parganas district adjoining Kolkata besides other south Bengal districts like Nadia and Burdwan from where reports of poultry deaths poured in.
Culling began Wednesday morning for killing an estimated 378,000 chickens and ducks while the state's poultry owners urged people not to panic but to treat chickens as complete untouchables.
According to the magistrates of Birbhum and South Dinajpur districts, the toll of poultry birds from the disease in the two districts rose to 55,000 in the past two weeks.
To carry out the culling, masked men in protective gear appeared like aliens in many areas where awareness about the disease is almost nil.
'We have cooked and eaten our chickens because we heard they would have been killed by the government officials anyway. We have not heard much about the symptoms of the disease,' said Lakhu Sheikh of Tentulia village in Rampurhat block 2 in Birbhum, about 250 km from Kolkata.
Tentulia is one of the villages where people resisted culling Wednesday.
Many villagers are also smuggling out their poultry and hiding them, health workers said.
A central health ministry team, including its additional director general and the joint secretary, is arriving in Kolkata later Thursday to ascertain the situation and hold talks with the state health officials, Rahman said.
While in some villages there is resistance, in most areas people brought hens, ducks and eggs and collected compensation slips at the rate of Rs.40 per big hen and duck and Rs.30 each for the smaller ones.
Officials said in the worst affected Birbhum district, about 55 awareness teams were formed to both inform the people about bird flu and identify the sick birds.
Control rooms have been set up in each block of the affected regions under the supervision of Additional Chief Secretary of West Bengal Kalyan Bagchi and Animal Resource Development Director Dilip Das.
The border with Bangladesh has been sealed in the affected areas, especially in South Dinajpur district, which shares a long border with the neighbouring country.
As the news about the deadly avian flu spread, prices and demand for chickens nose-dived in Kolkata markets.
West Bengal Poultry Welfare Association assistant secretary Najrul Islam told IANS that poultry farm owners would hold a press conference with the animal resources development minister to make the people aware and dispel unfounded apprehensions.
'We are also taking care so that the infection does not spread any further. We are also providing medication and trying to disinfect the poultry farms,' Islam said.
West Bengal is the fifth state in the country to have been struck by the H5N1 strain of bird flu since the first outbreak in Maharashtra in February 2006, and others in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Manipur.
In Nandurbar district of Maharashtra, about a million birds had to be culled in 2006 after the presence of the H5N1 virus was confirmed.
The virus causes a type of influenza in birds that is highly contagious and can be deadly. It does not usually infect people unless they come in close contact with infected birds or contaminated surfaces.
Avian influenza experts said speed in extinguishing the outbreak is crucial. The state government would need to prevent the movement of poultry out of the affected area, they stressed.
The World Health Organisation - had last year declared India 'free from bird flu' after the culling of a large number of birds and other preventive measures.
Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths; H5N1 confirmed
WHO warning over Indian bird flu outbreak <!-- END HEADLINE -->
<!-- BEGIN STORY BODY -->12 minutes ago
The World Health Organisation Thursday warned that an outbreak of bird flu in eastern India was far more serious than two previous outbreaks, as officials reported more poultry deaths.
"More serious risk factors are associated with this current outbreak than previously encountered, including that the affected areas are more widespread and because of proximity to extended border areas," the organisation said.
The warning came as Anisur Rahaman, animal resources minister in West Bengal state, where the outbreak was reported, said the virus had spread to settlements around the village where the first poultry deaths came to light.
"Reports have reached (us) that hens have started dropping dead in several villages surrounding Margram. We are worried over the situation. We have sought more help from the federal government," Rahaman told AFP.
Health officials are engaged in culling 400,000 birds in several districts of India's heavily populated West Bengal state bordering Bangladesh, which is also struggling with the virus.
The slaughter started after India's agriculture ministry confirmed that the death of an estimated 35,000 birds in West Bengal was due to the deadly H5N1 strain.
About 8,000 birds were killed Wednesday, the first day of the cull, Rahaman said, adding officials were facing resistance from bird owners.
"We have asked health workers to step up culling.... The government has a target to cull 350,000 chickens in the next 10 days," he added.
Meanwhile, Pradip Roy, a railway employee working at Birbhum station near Margram said villagers were crowding local markets "to buy chickens at low prices."
"A good number of chickens are also being smuggled out," Roy added.
In New Delhi, officials said advisories had been sent to states neighbouring West Bengal in a bid to contain any possible spread. Flights originating from Kolkata had taken chicken off their menus.
An isolation centre has been opened in a hospital near the affected area and 300 health workers have been sent with medicines and protective gear, Rahaman said.
The outbreak is the third in India, home to 1.1 billion people, since 2006.
Humans are typically infected by coming into direct contact with infected poultry, but experts fear the deadly 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.
Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths; H5N1 confirmed
Culling of chickens continues in West Bengal
Culling of chickens in bird flu-hit areas of Birbhum and Dakshin Dinajpur district continued for the second day on Thursday.
Some of the teams set up by the state animal husbandry department would visit villages in Rampurhat I and II blocks of Birbhum district again as the number of birds culled yesterday was small, official sources said in Suri.
Other teams would visit the villages in Nalhati I and II and Mayureswar I blocks and parts of Nalhati municipal area.
In Dakshin Dinajpur, officials had culled about 2000 chickens at a government poultry farm at district headquarter town Balurghat on Wednesday.
Birds reared in private poultry farms of Balurghat would be culled today, official sources said in Balurghat.
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