India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

[HenryN]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

Signs of India bird flu spreading, official warns
(AFP)

21 January 2008



KOLKATA, India - Villagers in eastern India are continuing to eat chickens killed by bird flu and there are signs the virus may be spreading among poultry, an official said Monday.
West Bengal animal resources minister Anisur Rahaman told AFP the situation in the affected areas was ‘horrible’, and that more suspect cases had been reported on the state’s borders with Nepal and Bangladesh.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
‘The ignorance of villagers is one of the main hurdles. They are carrying the dead chickens without any protective gear,’ he said.<o:p></o:p>
‘Most villagers are not aware of the disease. They are eating the dead chickens. Their children are playing with the infected chickens in the courtyards. It’s horrible,’ Rahaman added.<o:p></o:p>
Six districts in West Bengal state have reported outbreaks of avian flu among poultry.<o:p></o:p>
People typically catch the disease by coming into direct contact with infected poultry, but experts fear the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus may mutate into a form easily transmissible between humans.<o:p></o:p>
Rahaman said there were fears it could be spreading further afield in the state, with suspect poultry spotted in the hill resort of Darjeeling on the border with Nepal, and in several villages in Coochbehar bordering Bangladesh, which is also fighting a bird flu outbreak.<o:p></o:p>
‘Blood samples of the dead poultry have been sent for tests. We are awaiting the report,’ he said.<o:p></o:p>
The epicentre of the outbreak is Margram village, 240 kilometres (150 miles) from the state capital Kolkata.<o:p></o:p>
Rahaman said authorities had so far killed 200,000 chickens and ducks, and were planning to cull 500,000 more in the next three to four days.<o:p></o:p>
The outbreak is the third in India-home to 1.1 billion people-since 2006 but it has not had any human cases, although it is the worst so far because it is more widespread, according to the World Health Organisation.<o:p></o:p>
Some 30 million rupees (770,000 dollars) has been set aside to compensate poultry owners-although farmers are reportedly opposing the slaughter of their birds because they want the cash immediately.<o:p></o:p>
Bangladesh, meanwhile, reported another outbreak of near the border with India-taking the number of affected districts to 26 out of 64.<o:p></o:p>
Bangladesh government spokesman Salahuddin Khan said nearly 5,000 chickens have been destroyed around a farm in the northern district of Natore.<o:p></o:p>
Authorities have slaughtered at least 355,000 chickens, ducks and pigeons since the first outbreak of the disease in February last year.<o:p></o:p>
But experts have said some outbreaks may not have been reported, as farmers preferred to cover them up, fearing they might not be able to sell their birds in the market.<o:p></o:p>
Migratory birds have been largely blamed for the global spread of the disease, which has killed more than 200 people worldwide since 2003.<o:p></o:p>

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayA...bcontinent&col=

[HenryN]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

01/21/2008 13:01
INDIA
Bird flu spreads rapidly through western Bengal
by Nirmala Carvalho
In one week, it has struck at least 6 districts. Countermeasures are being disrupted by the residents, who are blocking the destruction of poultry. In Kolkata, sales of chickens are crumbling and the airlines in the region no longer serve poultry.


New Delhi (AsiaNews) - The authorities are unable to contain the epidemic of bird flu that has struck poultry stocks in western Bengal. The contagion has extended to the district of Bankura, while there are also massive poultry fatalities in the districts of Darjeeling and Cooch Behar. Although the epidemic has been confirmed by the Laboratory for Animal Epidemics in Bhopal, in many villages the population is blocking the culling of birds.
In Bankura, 30 groups were sent to eliminate the chickens in the affected zones of Khargram, Barwan, Nabagram, and Nawda. The culling of birds is already underway in the other 5 districts that have been struck: Birbhum, south Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Nadia, and Burdwan. In Kolkata last week, 122,000 birds were killed.
The government confirmed the epidemic on January 15, and immediately closed the borders with Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan. It has sent 60 rapid response groups to carry out immediate measures, and has sent experts to inspect the nearby states of Jharkhand and Bihar. At the beginning, the epidemic seemed limited to the districts of Birbhum and south Dinajpur, especially in the backyard coops. But in the following days the inhabitants of many villages opposed the killing of their poultry, a normal measure adopted to contain the contagion. The residents closed access roads and sometimes erupted into violence against the intervention teams. Anisur Rahman, western Bengal's minister for animal resources, has admitted that the culling has been suspended in a number of areas. Near the village of Margram, the epicentre of the contagion, the owners of the largest poultry farm have shut down the access roads and blocked the killing of their 30,000 chickens. In many villages, when the officials arrived the inhabitants brought their chickens inside their homes.
Meanwhile, in Kolkata sales of chickens have fallen by more than a half, and many of the airlines no longer serve chicken.
The inhabitants are asking for immediate compensation for the animals killed, in spite of the fact that Rahman has guaranteed the allocation of about 30 million rupees to reimburse them.
In India, the virus previously struck the district of Nandurbar in the state of Maharashtra in 2006, and the district of western Imphal in Manipur state in July of 2007. In both cases, the contagion remained limited to small areas. The authorities say that the infection comes from the poor regions bordering on Bangladesh and Myanmar, which have trouble containing the outbreak. The country has never suffered human infections. In recent days, in the Jessore region in Bangladesh, in the southern coastal district of Barishal on the Bengali border, the authorities have killed about 1,700 chickens to contain the infection.
Meanwhile, on January 16 the World Health Organisation, after studying the 350 official human infections in 14 countries since 2003 (with 217 deaths), has admitted the for about 25&#37; of the infections "the cause has not been identified", and that it is possible that the transmission of the virus did not take place through birds, but "from the environment", for example through fertilisers made from bird droppings.

http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=11305&size=A

[HenryN]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

Villages and blocks in India

<TABLE style="WIDTH: 48pt; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=64 border=0 x:str><COLGROUP><COL style="WIDTH: 48pt" width=64><TBODY><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD id=td_post_126239 style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e0dfe3; BORDER-TOP: #e0dfe3; BORDER-LEFT: #e0dfe3; WIDTH: 48pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e0dfe3; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" width=64 height=17>http://www.maavooru.org/Place.aspx?PID=622104

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

[HenryN]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

Commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01210802/H5N1_Nadia_Burdwan_Spread.html

[HenryN]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

<TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=contentSmall1 vAlign=top height=12>Bird flu spreads, hits West Bengal 's socio-economic fabric </TD></TR><TR><TD class=contentSmall1 vAlign=top height=12><HR class=dark></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=content cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="100%" colSpan=2 height=10>Kolkata, Jan 21 (IANS): More than 200,000 poultry birds have been culled in West Bengal since Wednesday to combat bird flu even as the virus spread to six districts, casting an ominous shadow on the state's socio-economic fabric.
While the industrial town of Asansol in Burdwan district, about 225 km from here, was the newest area to be added to the dubious list of the bird-flu hit, West Bengal Animal Resource Development Minister Anisur Rahman said there was no report of any fresh outbreak Monday.

"Asansol area is contiguous to other areas in Burdwan where the virus was confirmed, but we have till evening not heard of any fresh outbreak," Rahman told IANS.

"We have been able to cull more than 200,000 birds by Monday evening," he said.

The state set a target of slaughtering 400,000 poultry but with the spread of the disease to new areas, the government said at least 300,000 more birds would have to be killed.

As the spread of bird flu outpaces culling in West Bengal , the deadly virus is taking human lives even indirectly - a chicken seller committed suicide.

Reports said 28-year-old Ananda Haldar of Malda district committed suicide Sunday by jumping in front of a train. He was driven to desperation by the fall in sale of chickens.

Ananda's mangled body was found beside the railway tracks near his home in Malda's English Bazaar, about 350 km from here.

Ananda had not sold a single bird in the past five days and was depressed, his elder brother Prabhat said. Ananda had taken a loan of Rs.20,000 from a moneylender to stock up on broilers but the falling sales left him devastated.

Rahman told IANS that the government was ascertaining if the man committed suicide because of the economic fallout of the bird flu outbreak.

In Nadia district, about 170 km from here, a wedding was put on hold because the bride's family rears chickens.

The parents of the groom, identified as Sabir Ali, chickened out and informed the girl's family about their decision to postpone the wedding after poultry deaths were reported from Tehatta block in Nadia last week.

The bird flu outbreak was confirmed there after laboratory tests in Bhopal .

The teenaged girl and Sabir Ali had fallen in love a year ago and were scheduled to tie the knot Jan 24.

"The groom's family told us to get rid of the birds and stop poultry farming. They said the marriage cannot take place now as the entire block has been infected by the virus," said the girl's mother.

The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu was spreading further in West Bengal , the animal resource development minister said.

The southern district of Bankura was the latest addition to the list of affected areas, taking to six the total number of districts in the grip of the deadly virus.

"Bird flu in Saltora block of Bankura district has been confirmed by the HSADL (High Security Animal Disease Laboratory) in Bhopal , while we have confirmation of the strain from new areas of the existing districts," Rahman said.

"Nanoor in the worst hit Birbhum district and three more blocks - Suti I, Sagardighi and Beldanga I - have been added to the list," he said.

"We are increasing the number of Rapid Response Teams to 400 from the existing 200 to keep pace with the spread of bird flu," Rahman said.

The six affected districts in West Bengal are Birbhum, South Dinajpur , Murshidabad, Nadia, Burdwan and Bankura.

About 100,000 poultry deaths were reported in West Bengal in the past three weeks.

The state government has allocated Rs.30 million for compensation to those losing their poultry, Rahman said.

Farmers were being handed over tokens at culling sites and asked to contact their panchayat or village block offices for the money. The payment is Rs.40 for a country chicken, Rs.30 for a broiler and Rs.10 for a chick.

The H5N1 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.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

http://www.kalingatimes.com/national_news/news1/20080121-bird-flu.htm

[HenryN]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

WB govt to contain bird flu spread

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080039139&ch=1/21/2008%208:52:00%20PM#

Monideepa Banerjie, Joydeep Sengupta

Monday, January 21, 2008 (Bankura)

Saltora in Bankura district is the sixth one to have been declared hit by the bird flu so far.

At this house, several chicken have died and only a handful are left. And there are so signs of the cullers as yet.

The situation in Birbhum where bird flu was first detected is not very different.

At ground zero of the outbreak Birbhum district it's chaos.

Members of the Rapid Response Team responsible for killing poultry in affected areas as quickly as possible, completely lack any experience.

No wonder they are lagging behind.

''We have just got theatrical training. I have never really culled a chicken before. It is not possible to cull four lakh birds with this infrastructure. I am 52 years old. I am a heart patient. For me, it is extremely difficult,'' said Dilip Sarkar, Member, Rapid Response Team.

''I'm not trained. I heard that people were being hired at the BDO office and I joined in. It's difficult to do this without training,'' said Amir Sheikh, Member, Rapid Response Team.

It's an on-the-ground reality that sharply contradicts, the claims of the West Bengal government that everything is under control.

The government had planned to deploy 400 culling teams headed by a veterinary doctor each to kill 20 lakh chicken across the state in the next seven days.

But the sixth day into the operation there are still not enough hands at work. There are only 154 teams at work.

''This is the first time bird flu has the hit this area. Each family has two to three poultries. It is very difficult to cull all the chicken,'' said Anisur Rehman, Animal Resource Minister, WB.

What's also affecting the pace of the operation is the anger and fear among villagers who have neither been extended on-the-spot payment for their poultry nor preventive medicines.

In panic that they may lose their source of income, two farmers have committed suicide.

Many others are refusing to reveal the actual number of birds they have.

''I didn't know that they will come here today. We had been living in fear that they will come to my village any day. The health officials didn't give us any medicine. We're anxious to know when we will get the compensation. We are not satisfied,'' said Nishir Let, Resident, Gobindapur Village.

Even the basic awareness drive has failed to take off in these villages.

''People are still eating chicken here. They are not aware of bird flu. Most of them are illiterate. The government has failed make spread awareness,'' said Rohid Biswas, Resident, Margram Village.

As the flu spreads, is this yet another classic case of government inefficiency?

When the bird flu broke the government was caught completely off guard, even though many say there were early warnings indicating an epidemic at hand.

Now, right in the middle of the outbreak the government finds itself grappling with a huge shortage of veterinary doctors and skilled field force compounding the crisis.

[HenryN]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

Bird Flu in WB spreads to seventh district

Kolkata/New Delhi (PTI): Bird flu in West Bengal spread to a seventh district Malda while authorities on Monday raised the target to cull 20 lakh birds in the next one week in a desperate bid to curb the reach of the dreaded avian disease.
The human tragedy also unfolded for the first time since the outbreak of the disease a week back when a poultry seller allegedly committed suicide in Malda town. His family said the probable reason could be his inability to repay a loan since there were no takers for his birds out of panic.
Central teams fanned out to neighbouring states like Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa, Assam and Meghalaya to monitor the situation so that the disease does not reach their shores.
"The High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal has confirmed a positive result for avian influenza in samples from Malda district," Union Animal Husbandry Secretary Pradeep Kumar told reporters in New Delhi.
The outbreak of bird flu has so far affected Birbhum, South Dinajpur, Burdwan,Murshidabad, Nadia and Bankura.Bird deaths continued to be reported from North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Hooghly and West Midnapore districts, Kumar said.
Nearly 1.6 lakh poultry birds have been culled so far while over one lakh birds succumbed to the disease.
"All the state governments have been requested to maintain adequate surveillance and report any unusual mortality at the earliest," Kumar said.
As a confidence building measure that there was no danger in eating poultry products in unaffected areas, Health minister Suryakanta Mishra said "I have been eating chicken." Mishra said the number of culling teams would be increased to 400 with a backup from 100 experts from the Animal Husbandry department in Assam.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200801212177.htm

[HenryN]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

Commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01210803/H5N1_Malda.html

[HenryN]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

Govt in panic as avian flu spreads

ASHOK B SHARMA
Posted online: Monday , January 21, 2008 at 1959 hrs IST

http://www.financialexpress.com/news...preads/263917/


New Delhi, January 21: The spread of avian flu to more areas in West Bengal has invited the concern of the central government.
Joint teams of the department of animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries and health and family welfare ministry have begun touring the vulnerable states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa, Assam and Meghalaya. Team to Tripura and Mizoram are also begin their tour from Monday.
According to an official press release, the Bhopal-based High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) has confirmed positive results for avian influenza (H5) in respect of samples from Chachal-I block of Malda district, Nakashipara block of Nadia district and Mejia block of Bankura district in West Bengal on the basis of rapid tests.
A total of 22 samples had been sent to HSADL from North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Hooghly, Nadia, West Midnapur and Birbhum districts on January 20, 2008.
As per latest information received, a total mortality of 1,07,881 poultry birds was reported from Birbhum, Dakshin Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Nadia, South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, Burdwan and Bankura districts in West Bengal.
On January 20 about 154 rapid response teams were deployed for culling operations in West Bengal. The cumulative number of birds culled since the first confirmation of outbreak in West Bengal is 160,440. About 79,260 eggs and 2865 kg feed have been destroyed so far in all the affected areas.
This is the third year in succession, India has come under the influence of avian flu. Earlier the incidence of avian flu on poultry occurred in early 2006, in western parts of the country, and in July 2007 in Manipur, in the North Eastern part. In 2006, the poultry industry suffered an estimated loss of Rs 30,000 million, while in 2007 it was Rs 6,700 million. This time the poultry industry is face a loss of Rs 165 million a day as the prices of live birds and eggs dipped on account of the recent outbreak in West Bengal.</I></B>

[sharon sanders]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

"..This is the third year in succession, India has come under the influence of avian flu. Earlier the incidence of avian flu on poultry occurred in early 2006, in western parts of the country, and in July 2007 in Manipur, in the North Eastern part. In 2006, the poultry industry suffered an estimated loss of Rs 30,000 million, while in 2007 it was Rs 6,700 million. This time the poultry industry is face a loss of Rs 165 million a day as the prices of live birds and eggs dipped on account of the recent outbreak in West Bengal..."

This is the process of a virus becoming endemic in an environment - something that has been going on all over the world for the last few years. More is to be expected as avian flu spreads throughout the world.

Hygiene must be stressed.

Proper hand washing:

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44493

FAO Instructions on How to Avoid Infection:

http://www.fao.org/docs/eims/upload//207623/FAO_HPAI_messages.pdf

[HenryN]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

Bird flu update

As per latest information received, a total mortality of 1,07,881 poultry birds has been
reported from Birbhum, Dakshin Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Nadia, South 24 Parganas, North 24
Parganas, Burdwan and Bankura districts of West Bengal.
The HSADL, Bhopal has confirmed a positive result for Avian Influenza (H5) in respect of
samples from Chachal-I block of Malda district, Nakashipara block of Nadia district and Mejia
block of Bankura district of West Bengal on the basis of rapid tests.
A total of 22 samples have been sent to the HSADL, Bhopal from North 24 Parganas,
South 24 Parganas, Hooghly, Nadia, West Midnapur and Birbhum districts on 20.01.2008.
On 20.01.2008, 154 Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) were deployed for culling, mopping
up and surveillance operations s per details below:

Sl.
No.
Activities of
RRTs
Birbhum Dakshin
Dinajpur
Murshidabad Nadia Burdwan Total

1. Culling 56 5 20 25 19 125
2. Mopping up - 28 - - - 28
3. Surveillance 1 - - - - 1

Total 57 33 20 25 19 154

Latest position of culling and destruction of eggs & feed carried out till 20.01.2008 is
given below:

Districts Poultry culled (No.) Eggs destroyed (No.) Feed destroyed (Kg.)

Till
19.01.08
On
20.01.
08
Cumulativ
e
Till
19.01.0
8
On
20.01.0
8
Cumulativ
e
Till
19.01.08
On
20.01.0
8
Cumulativ
e
Birbhum 66,566 19,09
1
85,657 8016 5,024 13040 1228 2 1230
Dakshin
Dinajpur
55,019 12,77
5
67,794 60,936 3,584 64520 1609 10 1619
Murshidabad
323 3,181 3,504 20 209 229 - 11 11
Nadia - 969 969 - 989 989 - - -
Burdwan - 2,516 2,516 - 482 482 - 5 5
Total 1,21,908 38,53
2
1,60,440 68,972 9,848 79,260 2837 28 2865
All the State Governments have been requested to maintain adequate surveillance and
report any unusual mortality at the earliest.
Joint teams of the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries and Ministry of
Health & Family Welfare are already touring the vulnerable states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa,
Assam and Meghalaya. Team to Tripura and Mizoram is also moving today.

MP/

http://pib.nic.in/archieve/others/2008/jan/e2008012101.pdf

[Treyfish]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=429 align=justify border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=ld>Two migratory birds die at Santragachi lake </TD></TR><TR><TD height=15></TD></TR><TR><TD class=kicker>Howrah, Jan 21: Amidst fear that the death of two migratory birds at a lake in Howrah district could have been caused by bird flu, the forest department and district administration have said it was 'natural' and there was no cause for panic.

"These birds come from the Himalayan region and some of them die due to energy loss and exhaustion. There is no reason to press the panic button. It is a natural death. We have received no report that they were affected by bird flu," Forest department sources said.

The sources said they had received a report of the death of one migratory bird at Santragachi Lake.

Every year thousands of migratory birds including lesser whistling teal, pintail, tuffted pochard, shoveller, gadwall, grey duck and comb duck visit the lake.

"This year we have the report of arrival of at least 5,000 birds at Santragachi," the sources said.

Confirming the death of two migratory birds in the last two days, District Magistrate Khalil Ahmed told PTI that the carcasses of the birds were found in the lake.

The carcasses, he said, were sent for autopsy and the cause of death would be known after receiving the report.

Bureau Report http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=419601&sid=NAT
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

Update

Snips from newsreports on bird flu in India, jan 21 2008

Most villagers are not aware of the disease. They are eating the dead chickens. Their children are playing with the infected chickens on the courtyards. It's horrible," Rahaman added.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=31&art_id=nw20080121114225132C406209

At ground zero of the outbreak in Birbhum, the chaos continues. Those carrying out culling operations admitted to NDTV that they had very little training for the job and the scale of the operation is mind-boggling.

''People are still eating chicken here. They are not aware of bird flu. Most of them are illiterate. The government has failed make spread awareness,'' said Rohid Biswas, Resident, Margram Village.

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080039076&ch=1/21/2008%204:39:00%20PM

No suspected human cases have been detected in Birbhum, South Dinajpur and Murshidabad (Min of Health).

http://www.mohfw.nic.in/Status%20Report%20on%20Avian%20Influenza%20in%20West%20Bengal-20.1.2008.pdf

Shillong (PTI): With avian flu spreading fast in neighbouring West Bengal, Meghalaya has sent blood samples of chicken from the Indo-Bangla border area to the Bhopal-based High Security Animal Disease Laboratory for bird flu virus tests. (Meghalaya is not in West Bengal, it is another state, just North of Bangladesh.ed)

http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/002200801211321.htm

Snips from newsreports on geografic spread of bird flu in India, jan 21 2008

Bird flu spread to Bankura, the sixth district in the state and seven blocks in Murshidabad and Burdwan districts yesterday. Poultry deaths were also reported from new areas, including Darjeeling and Coochbehar.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200801211341.htm

Bird deaths in large numbers were reported from fresh areas in three districts in West Bengal as thousands of chickens were culled for the third day on Friday to curb the spread of bird flu with Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee describing the situation as "very serious."

Burdwan, Bankura and Murshidabad districts, which were previously unaffected, reported deaths of thousands of chickens though bird flu was not, confirmed there, reports from the districts said.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/FullcoverageStoryPage.aspx?id=63260f17-7424-4075-ae0d-315153a31e9bBirdfluhitsIndia_Special&MatchID1=4635&TeamID1=7&TeamID2=9&MatchType1=2&SeriesID1=1169&PrimaryID=4635&Headline=Bird+deaths+reported+from+new+areas

He said bird flu cases have been reported on Sunday by Indian media in Siliguri (Darjeeling District, ed) as well. Siliguri is just 50 km away from the border (with Nepal,ed).

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-01/21/content_7465250.htm

Rahaman said there were fears it could be spreading further afield in the state, with suspect poultry spotted in the hill resort of Darjeeling on the border with Nepal, and in several villages in Coochbehar bordering Bangladesh, which is also fighting a bird flu outbreak.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2008/January/subcontinent_January702.xml&section=subcontinent&col=

Murshidabad, South Dinajpur and Birbhum are being monitored by teams of Ministry of Health, so far no suspect human cases detected in these districts.

http://www.mohfw.nic.in/Status%20Report%20on%20Avian%20Influenza%20in%20West%20Bengal-20.1.2008.pdf

Two migratory birds die at Santragachi lake
The carcasses, he said, were sent for autopsy and the cause of death would be known after receiving the report.
(Santragachi Lake is in Calcutta/Kolkata, ed)

http://www.thehindu.com/holnus/002200801211550.htm

Fresh samples from Bankura, Burdwan, Hooghly, Howrah, Malda, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas have been sent to Bhopal high security animal disease lab for testing. The samples taken at random from different blocks in these districts reported the death of chickens.

At ground zero of the outbreak in Birbhum, the chaos continues. Those carrying out culling operations admitted to NDTV that they had very little training for the job and the scale of the operation is mind-boggling.

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080039076&ch=1/21/2008%204:39:00%20PM

As per the latest information, a total mortality of 98,254 poultry birds has been reported from Birbhum, Dakshin Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Nadia, South 24 parganas, Burdwan and Bankura Districts of West Bengal.

http://www.medindia.net/news/Anti-Bird-Flu-Projects-in-Bengal-to-Be-Reviewed-by-Top-Health-Officials-32076-1.htm

"Bird flu in Saltora block of Bankura district has been confirmed by the HSADL (High Security Animal Disease Laboratory) in Bhopal, while we have confirmation of the strain from new areas of the existing districts," Rahman told IANS.

"Nanoor in the worst hit Birbhum district and three more blocks - Suti I, Sagardighi and Beldanga I - have been added to the list," he said.

http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=local&newsid=64643

Bird flu in West Bengal spread to a seventh district Malda while authorities on Monday raised the target to cull 20 lakh birds in the next one week in a desperate bid to curb the reach of the dreaded avian disease.

The outbreak of bird flu has so far affected Birbhum, South Dinajpur, Burdwan,Murshidabad, Nadia and Bankura.Bird deaths continued to be reported from North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Hooghly and West Midnapore districts, Kumar said.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200801212177.htm

The authorities are unable to contain the epidemic of bird flu that has struck poultry stocks in western Bengal. The contagion has extended to the district of Bankura, while there are also massive poultry fatalities in the districts of Darjeeling and Cooch Behar.

http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=11305&size=A

Bird Flu Outbreaks in Districts of West Bengal

Confirmed bird flu in these districts:

# 5 South / Dakshin Dinajpur

# 6 Maldah

# 7 Birbhum

# 8 Murshidabad

# 9 Bardhaman / Burdwan

# 10 Nadia

# 12 Bankura



Unconfirmed reports


# 1 Darjeeling

# 3 Cooch Behar

# 11 Purulia

# 13 Hooghly

# 14 North 24 Parganas

# 15 Paschim Mednipur

# 16 Howrah

# 17 Kolkata / Calcutta Metropolis (crows and other wild bird deaths and poultry)

# 18 South / Purba 24-Parganas

# 19 South / Purba Mednipur

[sharon sanders]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

Thanks to Treyfish, Niman, Niko, Muscade, great summary Dutchy!

[HenryN]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

Migratory bird dies in Howrah


Staff Reporter


<HR color=lightblue noShade>Cause of death not known
Authorities keeping a watch

<HR color=lightblue noShade>

Kolkata: With six districts in West Bengal in the grip of bird flu, the death of a migratory bird at the Santragachi Jheel (a water body) in Howrah district on Sunday created a flutter.
However, there was no official explanation on the cause of death. The bird belonged to the Lesser Whistling Teal variety. “We are yet to receive reports on the samples sent to the Howrah District Veterinary Hospital,” said Sanjib Chakaraborty, District Forest Officer, Howrah.
Another bird of the same variety died on January 5 for reasons not yet known.
The bird could have died because of the weather, Mr. Chakaraborty said.
As migratory birds were also believed to be susceptible to the flu, the authorities were keeping a watch on them.
There were about 5,120 migratory birds, which included cotton teals, pin-tailed ducks, cormorants and night herons at Santragachi, according to a census conducted on January 5, 2008.
The migratory birds usually nest in the area from November to March, leaving only when the young birds learnt to fly.
Authorities at the Alipore Zoological Gardens were also keeping a close watch on the bird population, said zoo Director Subir Chaudhuri. Chicken has been taken off the diet of zoo animals.

http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/22/stories/2008012255181300.htm