India - Bird Flu in POULTRY/ANIMALS Feb 5th - 10th 2008

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Feb 5th +

Culling over in West Bengal

Kolkata: The West Bengal government on Wednesday declared that it had completed culling of chickens which was launched on January 16, just days after the outbreak of avian flu.

A total of 35.8 lakh (3.58 million) chickens have been killed. The total loss due to bird flu is being estimated at Rs. 500 crore.

Animal Resources Development Minister Anisur Rahaman told The Hindu: ?Around 20,000 more chickens are expected to be culled during the ongoing mopping operations which will continue till February 10.?

The situation was now under control. ?Only 28 bird deaths were reported on Wednesday and there were no reports of large-scale unnatural deaths; no new areas have been added since February 2 to the list of 15 districts which were reported to be affected.

There were no reports of the H5N1 virus affecting human beings.?

http://www.thehindu.com/2008/02/07/stories/2008020755061400.htm

[Treyfish]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Feb 5th +

No new cases of avian influenza detected in affected districts
districts in West Bengal remains at 14. According to information available here, a total population of 33.98 lakhs is under surveillance. In 0-3 km area, 1919 people with fever have been detected of which three had exposure to sick/infected birds. In the 3-10 km area, a total of 2033 people have been detected with fever of which two had exposure history. These cases have been followed up. No suspected human cases of avian influenza have been detected in any of the affected districts.

http://www.deepikaglobal.com/ENG3_sub.asp?ccode=ENG3&newscode=13821

[Treyfish]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Feb 5th +

<SMALL>Go for vaccine, not culling, say officials
Thursday February 7 2008 02:42 IST BHUBANESWAR: To cull or not to cull is the dilemma faced by the State Government.

Reports said villagers along the areas bordering West Bengal have started feasting on poultry birds of their own anticipating action.

However, the Government continued to show signs of nerve; neither did it order commencement of culling nor did it revoke Monday?s decision which went by the Centre?s directive.

?We are waiting for necessary instructions on culling,? Director of AHVS (Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services) Bishnupada Sethi said.

If culling commences, about 8 lakh poultry birds have to be killed in Mayurbhanj and Balasore districts. ?Villagers are apprehensive that they would get very less in terms of compensation which also explains their action,? an official said.

As per the package, a farmer is entitled to get Rs 40, Rs 20 and Rs 10 for adult, middle-sized and chick bird respectively in layer category towards compensation.

For broiler, it is Rs 30 for an adult and the rest remain the same as that of the layer category.

However, the Centre?s directive to go for culling instead of providing vaccine has raised several questions. The first one obviously is the cost component.

?The injectable vaccine costs Rs 2 per bird and is harmless. However, culling a bird costs Rs 40 besides personnel, kit and medication expenses. It?s surprising why the Centre is not exercising the first option which has been so successfully adopted by the UK and other developed countries,? official sources said.

In fact, the State Government had asked for five lakh doses of avian influenza vaccine from the Ministry of Agriculture so that an immune zone can be created along the border. The Centre has not responded as yet.

Moreover, if culling is carried out, gene pool of the Indian poultry would be eliminated in no time. http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems...ORISSA&Topic=0</SMALL>

[Treyfish]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Feb 5th +

Govt to announce packages for bird flu-hit farmers, industry: Pawar
New Delhi, Feb 6: Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has said that the Central Government is likely to announce packages for the farmers in the bird-flu hit West Bengal and for poultry industry in the next 8-10 days. <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width=255 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD bgColor=#ffffff colSpan=3 height=1></TD></TR><TR><TD width=1 bgColor=#ffffff height=21></TD><TD align=left width=100 bgColor=#ffffff height=20><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><SCRIPT type=text/javascript><!-- google_ad_client = 'pub-9743520551274558'; google_ad_width = 250; google_ad_height = 250; google_ad_format = '250x250_as'; google_color_border = 'FFFFFF'; google_color_bg = 'FFFF99'; google_color_link = '000000'; google_color_url = '999999'; google_color_text = '000000'; google_ad_channel = '4898485360'; //--></SCRIPT><SCRIPT src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" type=text/javascript> </SCRIPT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD><TD width=1 bgColor=#ffffff height=21></TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#ffffff colSpan=3 height=1></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

"There are two proposals we are considering. There would be two packages, one for West Bengal and other for the rest of India," Pawar said on the sidelines of a function here.
He pointed out that situation in West Bengal is different from that of Maharashtra in 2006 because of backyard poultry.
"The number of birds in a family is very limited. Families are also very poor. That's why we have to see what type of package one has to provide," Pawar said.
He assured that whatever is required for West Bengal, the state government and Centre would work together.
"West Bengal Chief Minister has sent a proposal to me that he would like to provide some financial support to the affected families, those who are keeping backyard poultry. I am considering that also," he said.
Pawar said there had been substantial impact on prices of poultry products in the country as a whole, which has affected the poultry industry throughout the country, and therefore it needs a different approach.
Commenting on the ban imposed by the West Bengal Government on movement of poultry from the state, he said: "It's the first time that such a decision has been taken. I will try to understand what is the thinking behind the decision before reacting."

Pawar said that the culling operations in the Sate are nearly over, and added that as a precautionary measure, the government has decided to undertake culling operations in the five km radius of bordering state of West Bengal like Bihar and Jharkand.

http://www.dailyindia.com/show/213855.php/Govt-to-announce-packages-for-bird-flu-hit-farmers-industry:-Pawar

[Treyfish]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Feb 5th +

RAX, HUMAN, LIVESTOCK - INDIA (02): (ANDHRA PRADESH, ORISSA), CONFIRMED

Date: Wed 6 Feb 2008
Source: India eNews [edited]
<http://www.indiaenews.com/health/20080206/96113.htm>


Anthrax, a highly infectious disease, has killed 5 people in a
tribal-dominated district of Orissa, while 5 more cases have been
reported from Andhra Pradesh, health officials said here.

"Five people died of anthrax in the Koraput district of Orissa. We
have also received information that 5 anthrax cases have been
reported from Nellore area in Andhra Pradesh," Shiv Lal, director of
National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), told reporters
Wednesday [6 Feb 2008]. He, however, said the outbreak of the
disease, which is caused by the spore-forming bacterium _Bacillus
anthracis_ that is commonly seen among cattle, sheep, goats and
antelopes, was not connected with bird-flu, which has created havoc
in West Bengal. Anthrax occurs in humans when they are exposed to
infected animals or tissue from infected animals.

Lal said an NICD team would be leaving for Orissa Thursday [7 Feb
2008] to assess the situation. "Both these areas are endemic areas,
and earlier, also, anthrax cases have been reported from there," he added.

Lal said the people in Orissa were infected with the bacterial
infection because they ate contaminated meat, while in Andhra
Pradesh, people handled infected animals.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Brent Barrett

[This report has originated at some distance from the areas affected,
and, therefore, comments as to actual lesions and causes of death
should be treated with caution. We await news of the results of the
NCID investigation due to start at the end of this week in Orissa. So
far, it would seem that the Orissa cases died from the gastro-enteric
form of the disease -- the earlier report had them eating "rotten"
meat or stale beef -- while the Andhra Pradesh cases are cutaneous. - Mod.MHJ]

[Treyfish]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Feb 5th +

Central team to visit Orissa, AP to probe Anthrax deaths
Thursday February 7 2008 00:00 IST
<SMALL>PTI</SMALL>

<SMALL>NEW DELHI: The Union Health Ministry is sending a team to Orissa and Andhra Pradesh amidst reports of deaths due to anthrax in the two states.

While five deaths have been reported from Koraput district in Orissa, five people were afflicted with the disease in Andhra Pradesh's Nellore district, Director of National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) Dr Shivlal told reporters here on Wednesday.

"The disease is endemic in certain areas of Orissa like Koraput because of the large tribal population there which consumes the meat of dead animals," he said.

In Andhra Pradesh, the infections have been reported in a sheep farm where nearly 200 animals were down with the disease.

In both the cases, the disease was transmitted from animals to human through the skin, he said.

"The government has launched a massive awareness drive among the tribal population and an NICD team will leave for the areas tomorrow," Shivlal said. http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems...+E+W+S&Topic=0</SMALL>

[Treyfish]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Feb 5th +

Culling relief: Man held for forgery
Biswabrata Goswami
KRISHNAGAR, Feb. 6: At a time when several culling teams in Nadia are reportedly under pressure from local politicians to exaggerate the number of birds killed so that more compensation can be claimed, Mr Subodh Mondol, a resident of Tehatta-II block in Nadia, was arrested today for forging government documents Another three persons who are accused of the same charges are reportedly absconding.
Following a report published in The Statesman on 1 February, the district administration initiated a probe against the ?influential persons? and found Mr Mondol responsible for forging slips which were issued to the affected families, for providing compensation according to the birds culled.
The report also highlighted how these ?influential persons? pressured the members of the various culling teams. Narrating his experience, a culling team member said: ?If we kill 10 birds of an affected family, we are asked to put the figure at 20 so that the families owning them can claim more compensation ~ part of which will be pocketed by village politicians?. According to the Tehatta police, the accused Mr Mondol after failing to convince the culling team members forged the slips. Mr Onkar Singh Meena, DM, Nadia said, ?A few persons were involved in forging our documents in an effort to grab compensation. But, we have foiled their plans and the police have arrested one of them. An FIR has been lodged with the Tehatta police.
?On being alerted by the report published in The Statesman, I have asked all the panchayat members and BDOs to hang up the Master Rolls in their panchayats and block offices by which every persons could see the names and the number of birds culled. The initiative has been taken to keep the whole operation transparent?, Mr Meena added http://www.thestatesman.net/page.new...ss=1&id=189317

[Treyfish]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Feb 5th +

Epidemic outbreaks
Though the bird flu virus in major districts in Bengal and North Bengal has been widespread, much remains to be learned about the epidemic wherein, unlike most avian flu viruses that mainly affect the respiratory tract,
A(H5N1) has been found to damage the liver and
kidneys in humans, writes Arunayan Sharma

Birds are in great danger. They are posing threat to our lives as they have been detected as carrier of the deadly virus known as Avian Influenza or Bird Flu. Although threat is mainly for the domesticated varieties of poultry chickens and ducks but can pass through wild variety of migratory birds. Avian influenza viruses have been found in many bird species, but are most often found in migratory waterfowl. Wild birds, especially waterfowl and shorebirds, have been a reason of concern for long time in poultry industry as a source for influenza infections in poultry birds. The first influenza virus was from marine birds and it was classified as subtype H5N3. Other wild birds yielding influenza viruses include various species of shorebirds, gulls, quail, pheasants, and ratites (ostrich and rhea). Bird flu is considered lethal.
With recent out break of this disease among poultry birds in various districts including Malda, North and South Dinajpur of West Bengal millions of chickens either died of infection or were put to death. The majority of waterfowl migration takes place within geographic areas. Many species other than waterfowl follow these same migratory pathways from their breeding grounds to the wintering grounds and return to the breeding grounds. Influenza virus has been found in wild birds throughout the year, but waterfowl are the only group in which these viruses are always found.
?Bird flu? is a phrase similar to ?Swine flu or ?Human flu? refers to an illness caused by many different strains of influenza viruses that have adapted to a specific host. All known viruses that cause influenza in birds belong to the species: Influenza ?A?virus. All subtypes (but not all strains of all subtypes) of Influenza ?A? virus are adapted to birds, which is why for many purposes avian flu virus is the Influenza ?A? virus ( ?A? does not stand for ?avian?). Adaption is non-exclusive. Being adapted towards a particular species does not preclude adaptions, or partial adaptions, towards infecting different species. In this way strains of influenza viruses are adapted to multiple species, though may be preferential towards a particular host.
In domestic birds, the indicators of disease are not diagnostic because they are highly variable and they depend on the strain of virus, bird species involved, and a variety of other factors including age and sex. Signs of disease may appear as respiratory or reproductive abnormalities. Included are such nonspecific manifestations as decreased activity, food consumption and egg production; ruffled feathers; coughing and sneezing; diarrhea; and even nervous disorders, such as tremors. Observable symbols of illness have not been described for wild birds. In domestic chickens and turkeys, certain virus subtypes like H5N2 and H7N7, respectively, are usually highly virulent and may cause up to 100 percent mortality in infected flocks. Too little is known about the impact of influenza viruses on the reproductive performance of wild birds to assess whether they are affected in the same manner as poultry.
Avian influenza viruses in wild birds cannot be effectively controlled because of the large number of virus subtypes and the high frequency of virus genetic mixing resulting in new virus subtypes. Also, virus has been recovered from water and fecal material in areas of high waterfowl use. The virus has been recovered from poultry houses more than 100 days after flock depopulation for markets. In the domestic bird industry, preventing the entry of the virus into poultry flocks is the first line of defense. Vaccines are selectively used to combat less virulent forms of this disease. Antibody present in the blood of recovered and vaccinated birds prevents virus transmission. Therefore, these birds pose little risk to other birds. Flocks are generally killed when they are infected with highly virulent viruses. In the past, the poultry industry and the wildlife conservation community have been in conflict regarding wildlife refuge development and other waterbirds habitat projects. Much remains to be learned about avian flu. Unlike most flu viruses ? which mainly affect the respiratory tract ? the A (H5N1) has been found to damage the liver and kidneys of humans. In some birds, it even attacks the central nervous system, causing the animal to flop around before it finally dies. It is feared that the virus may develop the ability to spread from person to person through close contact. That would mean going a step closer to the possibility of an epidemic. The focus has now being shifted from preventing the spread of the flu among animals to limiting the probability of human infection. This is being done through awareness initiatives like encouraging farmers to keep chickens out of their homes, wash their hands after contact with poultry and cook meat and eggs at 70 degrees and above. The pattern of human infection remains a mystery. Of those infected many were children who may have contracted the disease simply because they are closer to the ground and thus more likely to breathe in the exhalations.
On the other hand, there have been no cases of infection among the workers involved in culling chickens because they are taking precautions during their work.
Once the highly unstable A (H5N1) virus infects a person, it already has its effect gone through a huge number of possible combinations through random genetic recombination, a constant reshuffling of its genome that produces nonviable viral particles could, in theory, produce something terrifying. Genetic factors in distinguishing between ?human flu viruses? and ?avian flu viruses? include: PB2: (RNA polymerase): Amino acid (or residue) position 627 in the PB2 protein encoded by the PB2 RNA gene. Until H5N1, all known avian influenza viruses had a Glu at position 627, while all human influenza viruses had a lysine. HA: (hemagglutinin): Avian influenza HA bind alpha 2-3 sialic acid receptors while human influenza HA bind alpha 2-6 sialic acid receptors. Swine influenza viruses have the ability to bind both types of sialic acid receptors. Pandemic flu viruses have some avian flu virus genes and some human flu virus genes. Both the H2N2 and H3N2 pandemic strains contained genes from avian influenza viruses. Swine were considered the original ?intermediate host? for influenza, because they supported reassortment of divergent subtypes. However, other hosts appear capable of similar coinfection (e.g., many poultry species), and direct transmission of avian viruses to humans.
In spite of their pandemic connection, avian influenza viruses are noninfectious for most species. When they are infectious they are usually asymptomatic, so the carrier does not have any disease from it. Thus while infected with an avian flu virus, the animal doesn?t have a ?flu?. Typically, when illness (called ?flu?) from an avian flu virus does occur, it is the result of an avian flu virus strain adapted to one species spreading to another species (usually from one bird species to another bird species). So far as is known, the most common result of this is an illness so minor as to be not worth noticing. But with the domestication of chickens and turkeys, humans have created species subtypes (domesticated poultry) that can catch an avian flu virus adapted to waterfowl and have it rapidly mutate into a form that kills in days over 90 per cent of an entire flock and spread to other flocks and kill 90 per cent of them and can only be stopped by killing every domestic bird in the area. Until H5N1 infected humans in the 1990s, this was the only reason avian flu was considered important. Since then, avian flu viruses have been intensively studied; resulting in changes in what is believed about flu pandemics, changes in poultry farming, changes in flu vaccination research, and changes in flu pandemic planning. H5N1 has evolved into a flu virus strain that infects more species than any previously known flu virus strain, is deadlier than any previously known flu virus strain, and continues to evolve becoming both more widespread and more deadly causing. The highly pathogenic Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 virus is an emerging avian influenza virus that has been causing global concern as a potential pandemic threat. It is often referred to ?bird flu? or ?avian influenza? even though it is only one subtype of avian influenza causing virus. H5N1 has killed millions of poultry in a growing number of countries throughout Asia, Europe and Africa. Health experts are concerned that the co-existence of human flu viruses and avian flu viruses (especially H5N1) will provide an opportunity for genetic material to be exchanged between species-specific viruses, possibly creating a new virulent influenza strain that is easily transmissible and lethal to humans.
Since the first H5N1 outbreak occurred in 1997, there has been an increasing number of HPAI H5N1 bird-to-human transmissions leading to clinically severe and fatal human infections. However, because there is a significant species barrier that exists between birds and humans, the virus does not easily cross over to humans, though some cases of infection are being researched to discern whether human to human transmission is occurring. Although millions of birds have become infected with the virus since its discovery, 206 humans have died from the H5N1 in twelve countries according to WHO data as of November 2007. Epidemioloigists are afraid that next time if such a virus mutates, it could pass from human to human. If this form of transmission occurs, another big pandemic could result which would be a major threat for the human society.
Wild birds can carry the viruses, but usually do not get sick from them. The H5N1 virus is endemic in much of Asia and has spread into parts of Europe and Africa. Currently, close contact with infected poultry has been the primary source for human infection. Though rare, there have been isolated reports of human-to-human transmission of the virus. Genetic studies confirm that the influenza a virus H5N1 mutates rapidly. Should it adapt to allow easy human-to-human transmission, a pandemic could ensue ? it has not done so to date. At this time, it is uncertain whether the currently circulating H5N1 virus will lead to a global disease outbreak in humans ? a pandemic. The reported symptoms of avian influenza in humans have ranged from typical influenza-like symptoms (fever, cough, sore throat, and muscle aches) to eye infections (conjunctivitis), acute respiratory distress, viral pneumonia and other severe, life-threatening complications.
Avian Influenza have been found not just in chickens and ducks, but also in teal, Canada geese, gray herons, feral pigeons as well as the black-headed gull and a peregrine falcon. Avian influenza is non-clinical viral infection of wild birds caused by a group of viruses known as type A influenzas. These viruses are maintained in wild birds by fecal-oral routes of transmission. The virus subtypes are identified and classified on the basis of two broad types of antigens, hemagglutinan (H) and neuraminidase (N); 15 H and 9 N antigens have been identified among all of the known type A influenzas. Different combinations of the two antigens appear more frequently in some groups of birds than others. In waterfowl, for example, all 9 of the neuraminidase subtypes and 14 of the 15 hemagglutinin subtypes have been found, and H6 and H3 are the predominant subtypes. In shorebirds and gulls, 10 different hemagglutinin subtypes and eight neuraminidase subtypes have been found. Many of the antigenic combinations of subtypes are unique to shorebirds. H9 and H13 are the predominate subtypes. More influenza viruses from shorebirds infect waterfowl than chickens. Hemagglutinin subtypes H5 and H7 are associated with virulence or the ability to cause severe illness and mortality in chickens and turkeys. However, two viruses with the same subtype antigens can vary in virulence for domestic birds.
Vaccines to protect humans against H5N1 viruses currently are under development. In addition, research is underway to make large quantities of vaccine more quickly. So far, research suggests that two antiviral medicines, oseltamavir (Tamiflu) and zanamavir (Relenza), may be useful treatments for H5N1 avian influenza. Some adverse reactions have been reported in children. However, H5N1 viruses are generally resistant to two other available antiviral medications, amantadine and rimantadine, so they cannot be used to. The deadly bird flu virus, which has killed millions of birds and dozens of people in East and South-East Asia, Central Asia, recently reached in West Bengal and parts of North Bengal in Malda and North and South Dinajpur district. The government of West Bengal is still discussing strategies to prepare for the virus, in case migratory birds carry it there from Asia. But in India and its sleepy poultry markets in particular, health and hygiene seem low on the priority list.
In the past years, India has checked random samples of chicken blood for H5N1, the virus that has caused havoc in other parts of Asia. But traders and farmers at and poultry retailers, are not armed with precautions. Traders shrug off fears. No disease can hurt Indians as we cook chicken in high temperatures and with hot spices no germs can survive at this temperature. Eventually, the samples are sent to Bhopal, where the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory scans them for H5N1. India set up this system a year ago when the avian flu struck South-East Asia. The Bhopal testing and diagnostic facility is only the fifth of its kind in the world, and the first in a developing country.
Every winter, birdwatchers and ornithologists eagerly await the arrival of migratory birds. In India, migratory birds come from the northern part of the globe. Such movement, however, sometimes poses the threat of disease, a phenomena that has of late assumed large proportions. Malda with its numerous big wetlands attracts large numbers of migratory birds every year. Home to various migratory birds, the district is facing the danger of bird flu. A spate of deaths, including the first possible case of human-to-human transmission, has stirred fears of a broader outbreak thus raising the chances of a human pandemic. But little can be done to stop the menace: a vaccine is yet to be made available. A recent survey by the Centre for Ecological Engineering found that poultry breeders and chicken sellers were unaware of the disease.
However, the Centre for Ecological Engineering is organising awareness programmes on this Bird Flu to the village peoples where migratory waterbirds are arrived in close proximity of their backyard poultry farming. If avian flu starts spreading among humans, health experts warn it could lead to a disaster. The government is not equipped with proper medicines and medical teams. Birdwatchers traveling to North Bengal should be careful and take some precautions while going for waterfowl census in the wetlands. Anything unusual should be promptly should be reported immediately to the concerned authority. However, one need not unnecessarily panic. It is important not to give in to rumours ? that the chicken being sold in the local markets are not infected. It is advised to avoid chicken preparations irrespectively convinced by local poultry traders that Indian system of chicken cooking is safe for you. Prevention is better than cure.

(The author is the director of the Centre for Ecological Engineering Malda.) http://www.thestatesman.net/page.new...ss=1&id=188411

[Treyfish]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Feb 5th +

Avian flu ~ and the actual need of the hour
Yumnam Rupachandra
WEST BENGAL is in the grip of avian Influenza. Unlike in Manipur, the virus has spread despite the government?s efforts to contain it. Mercifully, so far no human case has been reported but the danger is far from over because there is the far more serious possibility of the virus doing a ?shift? or mutating to one that can be passed on from one human to another. If this happens, the fear of a pandemic, that scientists dealing in the virus fear, may not be far away. It does not help to panic in the face of a possible pandemic but there is an urgent need to create public awareness, an understanding of the virus and failure to tackle it arises.
Despite Manipur and Maharashtra having been affected by the H5N1 strain of bird flu ? which is also the strain currently affecting West Bengal ? its implication and potent is something health and veterinary officials and administrators, even the media, are yet to understand. It?s a ?clear and present danger? that as yet has to be cleared.
It is a big challenge for the international community as the world has never seen the kind of widespread affliction of this virus as visible today. Scientists and animal health monitors across the globe are baffled at the scale, worried at the potential of it mutating ? a shift as they call it ? to a strain that could do a species jump and affect humans. This worry is not without cause or history.
Across the globe different strains of this virus ? an A type has mutated to kill nearly 53 million or 23 times the population of Manipur (2.3 million) since 1918. Surprisingly it is from a small farm in Kansas in the USA that the first pandemic originated. Known as Spanish Flu caused by the H1N1 strain, it killed 500,000 in the USA alone and anything between 20 and 50 million worldwide. The second pandemic by another subtype H2N2, known as Asian Flu, killed another 70,000 in the USA and two million worldwide between 1957-58. The third and last pandemic by H3N2, called Hongkong Flu, killed 50,000 in the USA and a million worldwide between1968-69.
?This is a scary scenario but we need not panic?, said Dan Rutz of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, who briefed media from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and India in a series of workshops organised by the American Center in New Delhi and Kolkata. Pandemics rarely occur and despite reports of avian influenza, we don?t have a pandemic, he stressed.
But the USA is certainly on its toes. Though stringent quarantine laws on livestock imports and isolation of America from Europe and the Asian mainland has so far spared that country from a current outbreak, it is not taking any chances.
At the International Ministerial Conference on Avian and Pandemic Influenza in New Delhi (December 4-6, 2007) the US team pledged $434 million to underscore its country?s commitment in fighting the virus.
The US concern is understandable given the fact that the recent outbreak, which has been identified as caused by the highly fatalistic H5N1 strain, killed 206 of 335 human cases in 12 countries. This is a high 61 per cent fatality rate, something quite disturbing for the scientistific community as well as health officials. Luckily so far there have been no cases of human-to-human transmission and this is an area that scientists are worried about. Because if and when it does take place ? and scientists believe it is likely but difficult to predict, given the present situation ? increased mobility of the population across nations, more urbanisation and the increasing number of elderly with chronic medial problems ? the affect is going to be devastating.
Manipur is now joined by West Bengal where H5N1 has been positively identified at a farm in Birbhum. Like in Manipur, hundreds of thousands of poultry have been culled, which fact has drawn international attention. For the next several months, poultry markets will be hit. But there are lessons to be learned from the Manipur experience where everything was apparently carried out by the book. The local dailies were full of what went amiss. It would benefit officials to go through stories on bird flu in Manipur in local dailies which recorded the entire episode. All that can be said is that it was a well laid plan poorly executed. There was a lack of coordination amongst all involved government agencies, including law enforcers who did not know what to do with people smuggling birds out of culling zones to how much the compensation would be for a turkey ? the price of which was not on the list of birds to be culled.
Officials from across the states, including West Bengal, rushed to Manipur for an experience of what is clearly emerging as not only a major animal health problem but a human health problem as well. At the end they all patted themselves on the back for a job well done and Manipur was declared virus-free. But what they failed to discover were the chinks in their armour. Many still believe that had H5N1 been really present, the manner in which the containment process was taken up, the virus would have beaten the fighters hands down ? much the way it is apparently doing in West Bengal. That the poultry farmers as well as the public have failed to understand the implications has not helped the situation either in Manipur?s case or West Bengal?s
Clearly the need of the hour is for a clearer understanding of the threat perception of the virus.

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=14&theme=&usrsess=1&id=189034

[Treyfish]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Feb 5th +

'High alert on Indo-Pak borders'
OCCIPIED SRINAGAR (February 07 2008): After the outbreak of an avian flu was reported in Pakistan, the government here has put its monitoring centres stationed along the Line of Control and International Borders on "extra alert".

"We have kept our field officers on extra alert in the border regions to monitor any emergency arisen due to the outbreak of H5N1 virus in Pakistan," said Dr Farooq Kaloo, deputy director Animal Husbandry.

"The field officials have been asked to remain vigilant within the 5-km strip from the actual border." Having close geographic proximity with Kashmir, there is every possibility that the bird flu disease might spread from Pakistan to this side. The government sounded alert in occupied Kashmir after some media reports from Pakistan suggested that the deadly virus has been detected in birds there.

Kaloo said that his department was collecting information on daily basis from its centres to ascertain that no virus from across the border reaches here. "We are also taking help of army and BSF in this connection since they are familiar with the area. They are collecting samples of birds and sending it to us. We have also asked them to keep an eye on unusual mortality of birds. Besides, they are also educating people of these regions about the dreaded disease."

Meanwhile, the government has banned the import of poultry and poultry products from Uttar Pardesh (UP), Bihar, West Bengal and Chattisgarh. "The ban was slapped today on birds, eggs and feed that come from these states after bird flu was found there," Kaloo said.

The department has constituted more than 900 field centres for the surveillance of the disease. Kaloo said that they have also intensified checking of the poultry trucks at the main entry points to the valley.

The scientists around the world have found that migratory birds are the main carriers of the bird flu virus. Getting sensitised by this, the government has also taken some precautionary steps to tackle the disease.

"Special units have been deputed to the major wetlands of the valley to keep an eye on any unusual mortality among the migratory birds. They are collecting samples on daily basis which are then send to Bhopal for examination," Kaloo informed.

"However, till date no migratory bird has been detected with H5N1 virus," he added. Few days back, two migratory birds were found dead in the Gahrana wetland in Jammu. The officials suspecting that birds might die due to viral attack later sent the samples of dead birds to Bhopal. Though, the report is yet awaited.

The strain of avian influenza among birds is highly communicable among birds. It can also prove deadly to humans. Since 2003, the flu virus has killed at least 210 people worldwide.
http://www.brecorder.com/./index.php...&term=&supDate=

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Feb 5th +

Jalgaon District is north in Maharashtra State;

200 birds found dead in Jalgaon

Jalgaon, Feb 7: Around 200 chickens have been reportedly found dead in this district, the sources said.

According to the sources, the blood samples of the dead chickens have been sent to Bhopal for tests.

India is struggling to contain its worst avian influenza -epidemic, in spite of culling 3.4m birds and setting up a 5km poultry exclusion zone round the state of West -Bengal, the epicentre of the outbreak.

The government's failure to reassure farmers that they will receive fair compensation for birds culled by rapid response teams has left experts scrambling to stop the disease entering the crowded markets of Calcutta and Delhi and led to a crisis of confidence in India's -poultry industry.

The latest outbreak of the H5N1 strain of bird flu, confirmed on January 15, is proving more difficult to contain than earlier manifestations at large poultry farms in the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat in 2006 and, last year, in Manipur.

Roughly 80 per cent of rural households in West Bengal keep hens and ducks in their backyards to supplement their incomes, a practice encouraged by the state government, which distributes millions of chicks to poor communities each year.

The ministry of agriculture in New Delhi claimed yesterday that "unusual mortality" of poultry birds in West Bengal was coming down significantly, although 1.3m birds had died of the disease there. The preventive culling of birds to create a poultry-free cordon round the state was under way in Assam but had not yet begun in neighbouring Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa.

The spread of the disease to 13 of West Bengal's 19 districts, and strong suspicions that it has already jumped the exclusion cordon, have prompted a collapse of chick- en prices across the country and a ban on Indian poultry exports by at least eight countries.

http://www.saharasamay.com/samayhtml/articles.aspx?newsid=94338

[Treyfish]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Feb 5th +

Dhaka blames India for bird flu spread</ARTTITLE>
8 Feb 2008, 0202 hrs IST,Kounteya Sinha,TNN
NEW DELHI: In the case of illegal immigration into India, Bangladesh's response has always been a flat denial. With regard to the bird flu ravaging West Bengal it is one better: Not only does Dhaka see no link with the infected poultry, it is actually arguing that illegally procured birds from India spread the flu in Bangladesh.

Far from being willing to consider whether the traffic of infected poultry which ended up in small pens in West Bengal might have triggered the bird flu leading to culling of lakhs of birds, Bangladesh officials claimed that the traffic was one way ? from India into Bangladesh.

Bangladesh fishing and livestock secretary Syed Ataur Rehman told TOI from Dhaka that the government had taken exception to public statements made by some Indian politicians that the virus came to India through illegal poultry trade from Bangladesh. He said: "Such allegations are unfair. Actually, poultry is illegally brought into Bangladesh by Indians and not the other way round. We have lodged an official protest with India's MEA over such public comments." Senior Indian officials monitoring the flu point out that there could, indeed, be a two-way trade in poultry.

But they are stumped by the claim that it in only India that is the source of infected birds in Bangladesh. Besides officials in West Bengal, Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar had said that the H5N1 virus that has infected 13 districts of Bengal entered from Bangladesh.

India had made a formal request to the Bangladesh government to share the genetic history and information of its virus.

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."

On another count, Bangladesh is being more cooperative. The genetic sequencing of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza strain, that is currently wreaking havoc in Bangladesh, has been completed and the eastern neighbour is willing to share the data with India.

It, however, has one condition: that India, in a reciprocal gesture, allow Bangladesh to study the genetic details of the H5N1 virus strain that hit Maharashtra, Manipur and is presently wreaking havoc in West Bengal. Rahman admitted that the genetic sequencing of the virus, that has been circulating in Bangladesh since March 2007, had been completed by the OIE Reference Laboratory for Avian Influenza in Weybridge, UK.

In reaction, India's animal husbandry secretery Pradeep Kumat told TOI : "India is willing to share virus samples with Bangladesh."

Adding that Bangladesh's foreign ministry has already communicated this to India's external affairs ministry, Rahman said that a joint secretary level officer, Parikhit Dutta Ray, has been appointed as a liaison officer in Dhaka to especially deal with India's requests, including setting up joint monitoring teams, sharing virus information and control and containment operations. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/I...ow/2765576.cms

[sharon sanders]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Feb 5th +

No new cases of avian influenza detected in affected districts districts in West Bengal remains at 14. According to information available here, a total population of 33.98 lakhs is under surveillance.

In 0-3 km area, 1919 people with fever have been detected of which three had exposure to sick/infected birds.

In the 3-10 km area, a total of 2033 people have been detected with fever of which two had exposure history.

These cases have been followed up. No suspected human cases of avian influenza have been detected in any of the affected districts.

http://www.deepikaglobal.com/ENG_full.asp?catcode=ENG3&mcode=National

[HenryN]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Feb 5th +

Jalgaon District is north in Maharashtra State;

200 birds found dead in Jalgaon

Jalgaon, Feb 7: Around 200 chickens have been reportedly found dead in this district, the sources said.

According to the sources, the blood samples of the dead chickens have been sent to Bhopal for tests.

India is struggling to contain its worst avian influenza -epidemic, in spite of culling 3.4m birds and setting up a 5km poultry exclusion zone round the state of West -Bengal, the epicentre of the outbreak.

The government's failure to reassure farmers that they will receive fair compensation for birds culled by rapid response teams has left experts scrambling to stop the disease entering the crowded markets of Calcutta and Delhi and led to a crisis of confidence in India's -poultry industry.

The latest outbreak of the H5N1 strain of bird flu, confirmed on January 15, is proving more difficult to contain than earlier manifestations at large poultry farms in the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat in 2006 and, last year, in Manipur.

Roughly 80 per cent of rural households in West Bengal keep hens and ducks in their backyards to supplement their incomes, a practice encouraged by the state government, which distributes millions of chicks to poor communities each year.

The ministry of agriculture in New Delhi claimed yesterday that "unusual mortality" of poultry birds in West Bengal was coming down significantly, although 1.3m birds had died of the disease there. The preventive culling of birds to create a poultry-free cordon round the state was under way in Assam but had not yet begun in neighbouring Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa.

The spread of the disease to 13 of West Bengal's 19 districts, and strong suspicions that it has already jumped the exclusion cordon, have prompted a collapse of chick- en prices across the country and a ban on Indian poultry exports by at least eight countries.

http://www.saharasamay.com/samayhtml/articles.aspx?newsid=94338

[ATTACH]2336[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]2337[/ATTACH]

Map updated

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&om=0&t=h&msa=0&msid=106484775090296685271.0004353ecc9cb8856de8c&num=200&start=200&ll=24.046464,83.232422&spn=18.476134,32.34375&z=5

[Treyfish]

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Feb 5th +

Culling may be tough in Mayurbhanj
Saturday February 9 2008 08:49 IST
<small>ENS</small>

<small>BHUBANESWAR: Though the High Court directive has brought some relief to the people and poultry, the proposed ‘culling’ of chicken within 5-km radius of West Bengal border in Mayurbhanj district seems to be an arduous task - realising the ‘attachment’ of the tribals with the indigenous breed of the ‘red fowl’ species and its ethno spiritual role.

Of course, out of 123 samples sent in two phases from the district to the Bhopal-based High Security Animal Disease Laboratory, not a single sample was found positive and this proves that the ‘Mayurbhanj’ breed of fowl commonly called as ‘hansli’ variety by the tribals with a typical long neck and red feather coat is not affected by the deadly ‘H5N1’ influenza virus.

But the government had already deployed 15 teams headed by as many numbers of vaterinary assistant surgeons to execute the task ignoring the lab report and the ‘social angle’ of the whole issue, says tribal leader Sukhlal Hansda of Raikadjharan village adding even the offer price of the chicken irrespective of the ‘gender’ is a paltry Rs 40 while the ‘game birds’ used in cock-fights are sold at a price of Rs 1,000 - 2,000 and in some cases even some enthusiasts may quote more than that to the owner.

Poultry farming, especially with the local ‘hansli’ variety among the tribals is a source of livelihood. So without providing an alternate earning source if the culling is ever executed then there would be a stiff opposition and the State Government and the Centre would be responsible for that, Hansda said.

According to anthropologist A. Bose, even cocks are offered to tribal gods as food and the Santhals in particular while praying for their chief deity ‘Marang Buru’ offer only ‘hansli’ cocks. Even in the sal forests or near a tribal hamlet their temple or ‘jahira sthan’ is always seen with such offerings.

“Culling of the poultry would definitely affect the breed of this indigenous variety and its viability,” Bose added saying even the ecological web will be disrupted with killing all the fowls as they help in controlling pests and insects in and around habitations and crop fields.

The door-to-door survey in the particular area of Mayurbhanj has identified 83,782 birds from 152 villages of 18 gram panchayats, sources said.

But the surprising part of the whole controversy has also got some political colour as the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) activists might take the opportunity and make an ‘issue’ to ‘fight’ against the ruling alliance in the coming Assembly polls. http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems...ORISSA&Topic=0&</small>