India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

[Treyfish]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Avian Influenza scare
Migratory birds drop dead like nine pins
By Our Staff Reporter

A Vet officer holding up the carcass of a migratory bird
IMPHAL, Jan 30 : Even as a red alert has been sounded all over the country following the outbreak of bird flu in West Bengal on January 15, which has affected 13 of its 19 districts so far, caution has been sounded following the death of at least seven migratory birds, probably Gold Magpie, at Maharabi near Sekmai in Imphal West district during the last 48 hours.
Moreover four Bulbuls (Khoining) were also found dead during the same period.
This information was conveyed to The Sangai Express today evening by the villagers of Maharabi. The Sangai Express then passed on the information to the Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Department.
A team of media persons and a team from the VAH led by Dr K Gopal, the State Nodal Officer on Avian Influenza then rushed to the said place this evening.
Giving details, the vice president of Maharabi Youth Club, K Shyamchand said that the six migratory birds dropped dead from the trees in the village near human habitation yesterday.
The birds which usually come to the village at the time of this year annually could not grasp the tree branches securely, he said and added that they dropped from the trees and died.
As the villagers were not aware of the likely ramifications, six birds were consumed yesterday. Another bird died today, he said and added that this was what upped their ante.
Four Bulbuls also died during the last 48 hours he disclosed and added that while two died yesterday, another two dead birds were detected today.
The two birds found yesterday were fed to the dogs, he said and added that the other two found today have been disposed off.
The village will be thoroughly scouted tomorrow to see if there are more dead birds, said K Shyamchand.
The Veterinary team collected the sample of the dead bird found today and the same will be sent to the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory, Bhopal tomorrow.
Significantly, bird flu was confirmed in Manipur last year and the same was officially announced on July 25.
Following the confirmation of bird flu in West Bengal, awareness campaign has been launched all over the State by the Veterinary and Animal Husban- dry Department.
Despite the ban on import of fowls from outside the State, reports have come in that chicks are being brought in through NH-53. Police have however stated that they have not detected any smuggling in.

http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/News_pages/Local_page-01.htm

[Treyfish]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Bird flu becoming a political nightmare for Buddha


Sougata Mukhopadhyay / CNN-IBN


Published on Wed, Jan 30, 2008 at 23:10Budge Budge, West Bengal: It's been one "minority crisis" after another for the Buddhadeb government, starting with the goof-ups in the Rizwanur Rehman case, then throwing Taslima out of Kolkata.


Just ahead of the panchayat polls, the government has a reason to worry about the minority electorate ? the poor Muslims, who were involved in backyard poultry farming and have borne the brunt of chicken culling. They are ostensibly upset with the government.

"We see this as a ploy to sell American poultry products in our country, which will cost much more than our own products,? says a resident of Budge Budge, Sheikh Najes. ?We can't afford that. We will not let the government cull chickens in our village and we are ready to face the consequences."

The Buddhadeb government faces an uphill task as it struggles for new ideas to keep the minority vote-bank intact.

After the massive culling operations, the government apprehended a backlash and announced an added compensation of Rs 500 per affected family. Besides a new Rs 100 crores rehabilitation scheme, it is also requesting banks to waive or reschedule farmers' loans.

"We are considering only the miserable condition of the poor people and not in the light of Hindus or Muslims or minorities,? stated state minister for Animal Resources Development, Anisur Rehman, adding that the minority-majority question was ?not our main concern."

Clearly, the Bird flu menace has spread its wings beyond the domain of Bengal's poultry and the accompanying financial losses for farmers.

Despite the assurances of the government, the political fall-out and its impact on the vote-bank is what seems to be bothering the Left Front government more than anything else. With panchayat polls just a few months away, the Left Front government is stuck at a critical crossroad. http://www.ibnlive.com/news/bird-flu...57760-3-1.html

[Treyfish]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Bird flu: State takes preventive steps


Special Correspondent



<TABLE width="100%" bgColor=#d0f0ff border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Tight monitoring at check-posts </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>



<HR color=lightblue noShade>Veterinary doctors to be posted at check-posts
Rapid action force set up
<HR color=lightblue noShade>


THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Food and Civil Supplies Minister C. Divakaran, who is in charge of the Animal Husbandry Department, on Wednesday announced a series of preventive and precautionary measures against the possible spread of avian flu in the State.
The measures included tight monitoring and patrolling of 18 border check-posts through which 80 per cent of the State?s requirement of chicken and eggs was met. Veterinary doctors and paramedical staff in sufficient numbers would be posted at these check-posts and the necessary infrastructure installed.
A rapid action force has also been set up to respond instantly to any incident that might be reported from any part of the State.
Addressing a press conference soon after a high-level meeting of Animal Husbandry officials here, Mr. Divakaran asserted that the State was totally free from the scourge of avian flu.
But his department had nevertheless decided to take precautionary measures and be fully prepared to meet any eventuality. Constant monitoring by the department had ruled out the possibility of an outbreak in the State.
He said the check-posts would be under surveillance. The kits and uniforms for the RPF had been distributed. He said arrangements had been made at the check-posts to monitor cattle movement as well for possible affliction of anthrax, foot and mouth disease, etc.
He said a control room would operate in the Secretariat to respond to any reports.
The public have been advised to contact the control room in the case of emergency on the following two numbers: 0471 3256288 and 0471 2302283.
In reply to a question, he said monitoring of chicken and eggs would be done randomly, but in the case of cattle heads, it would be done individually.
Responding to reports from Nadapuram about large-scale death of chicken, the Minister said the death occurred due to ?ranikhet disease? (?kozhi vasanta?) as established by laboratory examination and was in no way connected to avian flu.
The incident occurred in a tribal colony and only 60 fowls had died, the Minister said.
Animal Husbandry secretary in-charge V.K. Vasudevan; Director Vijayakumar; Kerala Livestock Development Board managing director Anil Das; Kerala Poultry Development Corporation managing director Sunil Kumar; Veterinary Association president K.R. Anil Kumar; Veterinary Surgeons Service Association president Theodore John; and other officials attended the review meeting. The Minister said over and above his department?s exercise, a coordination committee with the Health Secretary as chairman and the Animal Husbandry secretary as convener, was also involved in monitoring the situation.
In reply to a question, he said a separate unit had been put into service to monitor migratory birds at the Thattekad sanctuary.


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http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/31/stor...3153300400.htm

[Diane Morin]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Culled birds exhumed, relief urged

KOLKATA/SURI, Jan. 30: Villagers of Bajitpur, Parchandrahat and Chattaparulia in Mallarpur-I gram panchayat in Birbhum’s Mayureswar-I block, affected by avian flu, exhumed the culled poultry birds yesterday and gheraoed the local panchayat office with the birds demanding interim relief of Rs 500 for each family as announced by the state government.

The villagers brought the culled birds to prove that they are among the affected families. The culled birds were again buried in the trenches at the intervention of the police. Rampurhat SDPO said the district authorities today issued an order, saying the person should be arrested if he tries to dig the trenches where culled birds were buried. n SNS

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=1&theme=&usrsess=1&id=187994

[Giuseppe]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Bengal chickens land in UP
31 Jan 2008, 0203 hrs IST,Rajesh N Singh,TNN

LUCKNOW: In a shocking lapse on the part of authorities in both Railways and the West Bengal government, over 2,500 chickens were transported from the eastern state into UP on Monday, sending alarm bells ringing within Lucknow's administrative machinery. Fortuitously, the UP officials decided to err on the side of caution and culled the chickens without even testing them for flu on Wednesday.

On Monday night, UP home secretary Mahesh Kumar Gupta had shot off letters to DMs and police chiefs stating that more than 2,500 chicken booked from Bardhman, West Bengal, on Vibhuti Express were offloaded on January 26 at Varanasi. The consignment was then sent to Shahjahanpur by the person who had received the chicken in Varanasi, the letter said.

Copies of the letter were sent to the GM of North-Eastern Railway, divisional railway managers of Northern Railway, NE Railway and North-Central Railway informing them about the alarming news and a directive to ensure that no poultry product booked from West Bengal and adjoining states be unloaded in UP.

The person who offloaded the birds at Varanasi was located in Shahjahanpur after the home secretary's letters to officials. Soon, veterinary doctors from the animal husbandry department reached the spot and culled the chicken, said principal secretary animal husbandry R M Srivastava.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Bengal_chickens_land_in_UP/rssarticleshow/2744723.cms

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[HenryN]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Bird Flu hits Kalyani again
Biswabrata Goswami
KRISHNAGAR, Jan. 30: The district administrative officials may claim that they were done with culling in the Bird Flu affected areas but locals from various places in the district have termed the operation an ?eyewash? following a fresh outbreak of the Bird Flu in Kalyani municipal area yesterday.
Fresh panic gripped the Kalyani municipal area as the dreaded H5N1 strain of Bird Flu virus has struck back, hitting the Harijanpally, a densely populated area under Ward No 2 of the Kalyani civic body. The new outbreak has come as a shock because the culling operation of the two surrounding districts ~ North 24-Parganas and Hoogly ~ is about to end.
Soon after the announcement was made, an angry resident of Harijanpally said: ?I cannot imagine how this disease spread in our area despite so much restrictions being put in place since 19 January.
?The district administration has banned the buying and selling of chickens across the district. After completing the culling operation in the notified areas of the district, the administration is conducting mopping operation. I think all these operations are nothing but an eyewash game. I believe that there should be a thorough surveillance of poultry throughout the year by the animal husbandry officials.?
When contacted, Dr Santanu Jha, an entomologist with the Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya and also the chairman of the Kalyani civic body said: ?I am confused about the cause of spread of the disease. I think that lack of thorough surveillance by the animal husbandry department throughout the year is the reason why the disease could not be detected earlier.?
Dr Amalendu Saha, deputy director of the animal resource development department, said: ?We are trying our best to combat the situation. The culling operation will be continued for years until it stops affecting the new area. When the disease affects an area, the first and foremost duty is to cull all birds in that area.?
When asked about the matter, Mr Onkar Singh Meena said: ?We were nearly through with the culling operation but the virus has spread to Kalyani. We will take similar action there.
?Culling operation has started from today and it will continue for the next two days.?

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=23&theme=&usrsess=1&id=188114

[Diane Morin]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Bird Flu: 33 villages under surveillance

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Jan 30: The Malda health authorities, under the guidance of experts from national institute of communicable diseases (NICD), New Delhi, are keeping close eye on 33 villagers owing to their illness with fever, cough and cold after handling and eating dead birds in Chanchal sub division area where culling operation is going after detection of Bird Flu virus, the Malda chief medical officer said today.

?A total of 33 persons who ate dead birds are under surveillance owing to their illness. Though they do not have acute breathing problem, we could not neglect them,? said Mr Radha Raman Banik, the Malda CMOH.
The Malda health workers started statutory door to door to visit from yesterday in the Bird Flu affected zone within three and up to 10 km radius from the Bird Flu affected village Mahanandapur in Chanchal I block in northern part of Malda district.

According to the CMOH, more than 600 people have reported that they are suffering from cough and cold with light fever.
?It does not mean that they are suffering from avian influenza. It is common phenomenon due to present cold wave. At least 10 percent of total population of this district is suffering from this disease. Comparatively the number identified 600 people out of 100,000 population is normal?, Mr. Banik said.

Today's rain has hampered surveillance job in the affected zone partly, he said.
?A total of 400 people, who are executing culling operation, will be quarantined for 10 days in Chanchal after the end of culling operation?, the Malda CMOH said.

The team of NICD along with the Malda CMOH today visited Chanchal area and examined the persons engaged in culling operation.
The ARD officials have collected blood samples of ailing birds from Kaliachak III block yesterday and from Kaliachak I block today from several villages according to the direction of doctors from NICD.
?The blood samples would be sent to Bhopal through state officials in Kolkata tonight?, said Mr N K ****, deputy director Malda animal resources development.

?Though we have culled more than 76,000 birds out of targeted 80,000 ones but we need two days more to complete culling operation. We need to review the present report to mop up the affected zone?, said Mr ****.

Though price of chicken and its rate of selling have decreased in Malda town following Bird Flu scare but sell of chicken being reared in private farm houses have been increased in rural belts like Kaliachak and block areas.

The people belonging to low-income group are buying chicken paying Rs 30 per kg, which comparatively lower than present price of beef, Rs 50 per kg.
Similarly the selling rate of egg and its price has fallen in Malda town. The Malda whole sale traders are receiving eggs from Andhra Pradesh with low rate and dumping in the clod storage now.

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=10&theme=&usrsess=1&id=188070

[HenryN]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=780 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=2>Bird flu in Kolkata suburbs, poultry owners up in arms

Express news service
Posted online: Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 0156 hrs IST
Kolkata, January 30
As avian flu reached within 8 kilometers of Kolkata, Bengal?s poultry owners ? who have lost crores of rupees and have been pushed to the brink of bankruptcy ? are now planning to hold an agitation against the state government.
Many of them have rushed to Writers? Buildings with applications asking the government to allow their poultry products to enter Kolkata. At present, only 12 registered poultries are being allowed to enter the city.
Meanwhile, hundreds of chickens died in poultries in Benerpur, Maheshtolla and Andharmanik in Bishnupur today. Both places are located within 8 kilometers of Kolkata. The members of the West Bengal Poultry Welfare Association met state animal resource development minister Anisur Rahaman at Writers? Buildings and alleged police harassment.
Rahaman assured them that those poultries who adhered to bio-safety norms specified by the ARD department will be allowed to do business. The poultries had been asked to submit applications on safety measures adopted by them.
?We have received around 60 applications. We are scanning them and will allow them entry if the measures are found satisfactory,? he said.
He has also spoke to the police to ensure that there is no harassment. The state government has announced a 12.5 crore grant to the ARD department. The fund will be utilised to provide a compensation of Rs 500 to each family that lost their livelihood.
On Thursday, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is expected to attend a video conference with all District Magistrates and sabhadhipatis to review the present situation and consider any proposal given by the district administration.
As of now, 24 lakh birds have been culled. With samples from new areas testing positive, the ARD department has set a target to cull 28 lakh birds, which is expected to be over in another two days.
Meanwhile, 400 chickens died at Benerpukur in ward number 15 in Maheshtolla municipality and Andharmanik area in Bishnupur respectively. The chicken deaths took place in poultries. Both areas are within 8 kms from Kolkata.
?Samples have been sent for testing, but the results have not arrived. A number of chickens died in these two places. We will start culling soon,? said Sanghamitra Ghosh, DM, South 24 Parganas.
Culling operations undertaken in Baduria and Bashirhat faced difficulties as locals protested against the move.

http://www.indianexpress.com/printerFriendly/267373.html

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[sharon sanders]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Poultry Industry is Hit - closer to Calcutta - culling teams quarantined as preventative

Bird flu in N 24 Parganas, organised poultry also hit

Kolkata, January 29 West Bengal’s avian influenza epidemic has spread from backyard poultry to the organised sector and entered a new district as well, with reports of 3,500 chicken dying at a poultry growing unit at Baduria in North 24 Parganas on Tuesday, barely 25 kilometres from Kolkata. Animal Resources Development Minister Anisur Rahaman, announcing the news at Writers’ Buildings, said that samples have been sent to the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal but culling has already begun in the area as a precautionary measure. “I have ordered culling within a five-km radius of the farm,” Rahaman said.
With the deaths reported from North 24 Parganas, Kolkata is now surrounded by bird flu affected districts — South and North 24 Parganas to the south and east, and Howrah and Hooghly on the west.
Avian influenza, which broke out first in Birbhum district on January 15, has now devastated backyard poultry in 13 of the state’s 19 districts. Tuesday’s report was the first time large-scale deaths took place in a poultry farm. Government workers have already culled around 22 lakh birds against an initial target of 25 lakh. “Following today’s discovery, we will have to revise our culling target as the bird flu has moved into a new district,” Rahaman said.
At Tuesday’s scheduled meeting of the state cabinet, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee impressed upon his colleagues the seriousness of the situation. Bhattacharjee also advised Rahaman to keep in touch with his counterparts in the Union government and find out if more can be done to control the bird flu. Rahaman, briefing reporters after the cabinet meeting, said there is no scope for vaccinating the birds.
Bird flu in North 24 Parganas, organised poultry hitalso “I have spoken to Union government officials about preventive measures, and they have told me there is a vaccine for the chicken but it cannot be used since birds become carriers,” Rahaman said. He said the government will not hesitate to follow up the US government’s offer of help.
The minister said many ARD staff engaged in culling operations now wish to return home, but this cannot be allowed since they have to be quarantined for at least ten days.



“I have told my officials to take steps against any culling staff who will try to skip the quarantine period. We are not sympathetic to such demands,” Rahaman said.

Meanwhile, the Bengal government has told the Centre it does not need any support from it at the moment. A communique released after a meeting called by the Union Health minister read: “The Resident Commissioner clearly stated in the meeting that no further support was needed.”
The note observed that the infection has spread to new areas in the already-affected Howrah and Birbhum districts. It said the “infection is not over a wide area but restricted to small pockets”.
Given the diktat that all poultry in regions close to affected areas need to be culled, the rapid response teams engaged in the field killed about 2.38 lakh birds on Monday taking the exact figure of birds culled to 21.68 lakh.


http://www.expressindia.com/latest-n...so-hit/266976/

[Treyfish]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

'Bangladesh dumping dead poultry in no-man's land'</ARTTITLE>
31 Jan 2008, 0143 hrs IST,Kounteya Sinha,TNNNEW DELHI: Dead poultry, found lying in no-man's land between West Bengal and Bangladesh, has now started to worry India. A BSF team reported to the Centre on Wednesday that Bangladeshi citizens were seen dumping dead birds in no-man's land.

Officials fear that the birds may have died of the deadly H5N1 bird flu infection. In such a case, India, which is presently fighting a severe bird flu outbreak in West Bengal, faces a renewed threat from the highly pathogenic virus, which can spread rapidly through wild birds and canines, who carry around such infected carcasses.

Not taking any chances, India, in an official communication, has asked Bangladesh to develop a mechanism jointly with India to decide how the dead birds, which are found lying in no-man's land, will be properly disposed of.

Speaking to TOI, an animal husbandry department official said: "We have received reports from a BSF vigil team that dead birds are being flung into no-man's land from the Bangladeshi side. Such carcasses can prove dangerous for both countries who can't risk fresh areas from being infected by the H5N1 virus."

He added: "We, therefore, need a joint mechanism in place to ensure such dead birds are disposed off before they are carried around by wild birds, cats and dogs, who then become active carriers of the virus. This mechanism can act as a confidence building measure." While 29 districts in Bangladesh are reeling under the bird flu virus, 13 of the 19 districts in West Bengal have already confirmed an outbreak.

The external affairs ministry has already asked the Bangladesh government to share the genetic history and information of the virus that has hit the neighbouring country. India is almost certain that the H5N1 virus presently wreaking Bengal came from Bangladesh through illegal poultry trade.

Health secretary Naresh Dayal had told TOI: "If we see that the virus circulating in Bengal is the same as the Bangladeshi type, we can almost be certain that illegal trade of infected poultry from Bangladesh into India was the cause of the present outbreak. If the strains don't match, the virus may have then been brought into India by migratory birds."

He had added: "That Bangladesh is our source of infection is till now just a matter of conjecture."

Meanwhile, bird flu in West Bengal on Wednesday spread to fresh areas in the affected districts of Howrah, Birbhum and Nadia, while a large number of chickens died in North 24-Parganas.

According to the latest report received from the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory, Bhopal, samples collected from Suri-I block of Birbhum district, Raghunathganj-II block of Murshidabad district and Chanditala-2 block of Hooghly district tested positive for Avian Influenza virus on the basis of the rapid tests. Tests of samples from North 24 Parganas are still under process.

More than 630 Rapid Response Teams were engaged in culling and containment operations on Tuesday. Over 23.23 lakh birds have been culled in total till now. The virus has, meanwhile, killed over 1.3 lakh birds in Bengal.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Bangladesh_dumping_dead_poultry_in_no-mans_land/articleshow/2744669.cms

[Treyfish]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Animal husbandry department puts officials on ?red alert?

Varanasi/Bareilly, January 31, 2008Uttar Pradesh's animal husbandry department employees have been put on a virtual red alert to check the entry of chickens from the bird flu-affected districts of West Bengal. Also, 1,500 infected chickens have been culled in Shahjahanpur, which received part of a consignment of 5,000 birds from Bengal. The consignment was first received in Varanasi for further dispatch to Buxar in Bihar, besides Shahjahanpur.
Sources in Shahjahanpur confirmed that Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Naval Kishor raided a poultry farm, seized 1,500 infected birds and buried them on the banks of the Khannaut river with the help of the police.
The poultry farmer had received the consignment from bird flu-hit Burdwan district in Bengal.
In Varanasi, Animal Husbandry Department deputy director Dr Sardar Singh told HT over the phone that 5,000 chickens from West Bengal were sent to the city by train in the name of a trader, Deepu Sonker. The consignment reached Varanasi on the morning of January 26.
?We came to know about it late that afternoon and rushed to the railway station to found out the details. We immediately brought the matter to the notice of district magistrate Beena Kumari, who imposed a ban on the import of chickens and other poultry products from West Bengal. She also ordered the arrest of the local trader,? Singh said.
An FIR has been registered against Sonker, who had received the consignment at the station.
The department has deployed the employees, along with policemen, at railway stations and bus terminuses, highways and border districts to check the transport of chickens from Bengal, he said.
The Varansi district administration has already checked poultry shops.
Chetganj police station officer Chand Hussain said, ?We are conducting raids to arrest the poultry trader who sent the consignment of chickens to other districts of Western UP and Bihar from Varanasi."
Varansi Chief Medical Officer Dr Abdul Halim said preparations had been made to combat bird flu, but no case had been reported yet in Varanasi.
Dr S Majumdar, head of the poultry division at the Central Avian Research Institute, Izzatnagar (Bareilly) said there should be an immediate ban on the import of all poultry products from infected areas. Local authorities should constitute teams to detect and follow up with action on the basis of diagnosis. http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryP...alert%e2%80%99

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Commentary at

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

Commentary

Dead Chickens Cause Panic in Calcutta

Recombinomics Commentary 20:08
January 30, 2008

While the state government on Wednesday claimed that the onslaught of bird flu is coming under control, there was panic at Maheshtala in Kolkata after the mysterious death of 200 chickens there.

"At least 700 chickens have already been culled in North 24 Parganas after our tests suggested the presence of the virus in the area," Mr Rehman said, adding that the situation is a little worrying.

The dead chickens described above have caused panic in Calcutta (see satellite map here and here). These chickens are near the confirmed H5N1 in Budge Budge, and are close to the sites where dead wild birds were found.

There has also been confirmed H5N1 just across the Hooghly River, and as noted above culling has already begun in adjacent North 24 Parganas. However, the suggestive test results have not been made public previously. In addition H5N1 positives were found in the Hooghly district.

Thus, there seems to be withheld test data on excessive domestic and wild bird deaths in the area, as well as confirmation of additional bird deaths, so confirmation of the chickens mentioned above would not be a surprise.

The true situation in West Bengal and Calcutta remain murky, due to limited testing and the withholding of test results. At this time H5N1 has been confirmed in at least 13 districts, and culling is ongoing in at least three more districts where H5N1 has not been officially confirmed.

It is likely that H5N1 is in all 19 districts, including Calcutta.


.

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Haryana state is not near West Bengal, it is near India's capital Delhi.

Bird flu scare in Haryana

31 Jan, 2008,

BHIWANI: Panic gripped poultry farmers in Haryana's Bhiwani District today due to mysterious death of thousands of chickens.

Poultry owners were scared that the bird flu virus has hit them.

"Thousands of chickens are dying daily. Doctors come, they do check up and then go. They are not telling us the exact reason for the mysterious death," said Krishna, a poultry owner.

There has been no official confirmation however if the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza has actually hit here.

About 160,000 poultry birds have been culled in West Bengal so far, while over 100,000 birds have succumbed to the disease.

The 5000 crore organised poultry industry in West Bengal has taken a bad hit following the outbreak of bird flu.

In 2006, after bird flu was detected in Maharashtra, the Centre had given a 4 per cent subsidy on interest on loans given to the organised sector and backed it up with subsidy on poultry feed.

The WHO has called the outbreak the most serious in India.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/Bird_flu_scare_in_Haryana_/articleshow/2746055.cms

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Preliminary probe rules out bird flu in Haryana

Bhiwani, Jan 31: The presence of bird flu has been ruled out in Haryana after post-mortem concluded that the chicken deaths in Bhiwani were caused due to intestinal infection and not bird flu.

This has been asserted by a top official of the state Animal Husbandry Department and the state government has also claimed that the deaths were not due to bird flu.

An official of the Haryana Agricultural Department has stated that the Department had probed the cause of death of the chickens and brought the sample. After preliminary investigation it was discovered that the infections were respiratory in nature caused due to drastic fall in the temperature in the state. Therefore, based on this, experts have so far negated the possibility of bird flu here.

Varanasi bans chicken trade, sale

Meanwhile the administration in Varanasi has banned chicken trade particularly the purchase of chicken from West Bengal. The sale also has been halted in the markets of the city as a precautionary step.

Sources also state that it has been decided to thoroughly check the trains coming from West Bengal to ensure that the ban is adhered to. This pronouncement has come a day after chicken being smuggled from West Bengal was seized at the Rourkela railway station.

Bird flu scare in Darjeeling

However Darjeeling was gripped by bird flu scare today where 38 chicken were found dead yesterday even as culling operations continued in the affected West Bengal districts. Darjeeling magistrate Rajesh Pandey confirmed the chicken deaths which occurred at Takdah village.

Blood samples have been sent to a laboratory for testing and the administration would chalk out an action plan after getting the result, he said.

Meanwhile, the state Animal Husbandry Ministry has raised the culling target to 27 lakh following death of about 4,000 chicken in North 24 Parganas district bordering Kolkata yesterday.

Although the district was not yet declared affected, culling operation has been undertaken as a preventive measure.

"As the target area is increasing every day it is impossible to say how many chicken will have to be killed," Animal Resource Development (ARD) Minister Anisur Rehman said.

The minister said so far there was no case of human infection. "We have sent more than 3500 human samples and none have tested positive."

http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=421623&sid=REG

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Bird flu lies 5 km away from Kolkata

January 31, 2008 19:04 IST

Despite the West Bengal government's repeated assurance that bird flu is under control, the deadly virus appears to be creeping towards the metropolis and lies barely five kilometers away.

500 chicken died of suspected avian flu in one poultry in the last three days in Mahestala Municipality, five km from Kolkata. The municipality collected samples on Wednesday and sent them to the National Institute of Virology in Bhopal. It will take three days to get the result.

Till then, nearly 3,000 people of the ward will have to keep their fingers crossed. Amal Bol, a resident of Benepukur in the municipality, feared that he or his family members might be affected by the H5N1 virus because it was at his poultry that the 500 bird deaths had occurred.

"I have informed the health department, the animal resource development department and the municipality but no one took the initiative to protect me or the 23 members in my family," said Bol. He said that on Wednesday samples were collected but no preventive action was taken.

Mahestala municipality chairman Kali Bhandari said he was aware of the poultry deaths and samples had been sent for testing. "We have collected the samples but we will have to wait for another 72 hours for the report to come," Bhandari said.

The police had been asked to ensure that there was no movement of poultry from the affected area.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jan/31flu1.htm