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

[Treyfish]

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

<TABLE class=TableClas cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=heading>Poor hygiene makes the state vulnerable</TD></TR><TR><TD height=11></TD></TR><TR><TD class=author>Komal Amit Gera / New Delhi/ Chandigarh February 11, 2008</TD></TR><TR><TD height=4></TD></TR><TR><TD style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(/images/common/gn_005.gif); BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat-x"></TD></TR><TR><TD height=9></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=TableClas cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>The large poultry industry in Punjab appears vulnerable to the bird flu outbreak in a similar way as it began in West Bengal. Talking to reporters here last week, officials of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) said they had investigated the poultry farms in Ludhiana, Amritsar and Chandigarh in the past few months and found gross negligence on the part of poultry farmers towards the birds. </TD></TR><TR><TD height=5> </TD></TR><TR><TD>According to them, the investigation was part of surveys carried out across the states and union territories in the country, and the situation was alarming everywhere. ?Since the size of the poultry industry is large in Punjab, the scare of an outbreak was also large here,? a PETA official said. </TD></TR><TR><TD height=5> </TD></TR><TR><TD>He emphasised that the government should not pay any compensation from the tax payers? money to the poultry farms as the bird flu spreads when the hygiene standards are not maintained during raising the poultries. </TD></TR><TR><TD height=5> </TD></TR><TR><TD>He said that standards set by the BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) were not mandatory and the poultry farms were thriving on low-cost methods adopted to raise large number of birds in filthy conditions. </TD></TR><TR><TD height=5> </TD></TR><TR><TD>Antibiotics are routinely fed to healthy livestock and poultry to make them gain weight faster and to compensate for unsanitary living conditions, the official added. </TD></TR><TR><TD height=5> </TD></TR><TR><TD>According to him, PETA had filed a report with the state animal husbandry secretary in July 2007, but did not receive any communication from the concerned department. The state poultry industry, which is worth Rs 3,500 crore per annum, provides employment to more than 300,000 people. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

http://www.business-standard.com/common/news_article.php?tab=r&autono=313211&subLeft=1&leftnm=3

[Treyfish]

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

Bird Flu: Vendors hit hard
Bappaditya Paul
SILIGURI, Feb. 10: Naresh Thakur has not opened his roadside stall at Alupatty in the town for the third consecutive day today. The young vendor puts up a table-stall beneath the Mahabirsthan flyover in the evenings to support his family of five by selling boiled eggs and omelette.
But since 5 February, the date the state health ministry clamped a ban on the trade of poultry items across the state, his means of survival has turned into an ?illegal? business, at least for the time being.
The case of Mrs Ashima Biswas who sells dim-ghugni (boiled egg and grams) by the roadside at Bidhan Market, or Mr Dilip Pal, a push-cart snacks vendor near the Meghdoot Cinema on Hill Cart Road, is also the same. The current ban on trade of poultry items in the state has hit all of them hard.
?The sales were already affected by the outbreak of bird flu. But now with the imposition of a ban on poultry trading, we literally have nothing to dish out to the customers,? lamented Mr Dilip Pal, who sells egg-rolls and other low-cost snacks, where egg and chicken are essential ingredients. The 40 plus vendor has a family of six to feed and he is the only earning member. ?My daughter will sit for the Madhyamik examinations this year. If the business continues like this for a few more days, I don't know how to feed my family, leave aside supporting my daughter's education", he said.
Roughly, there are over 300 push-cart snack vendors across Siliguri, who earn their livelihood by selling low-cost snacks on the streets. If the ban on trading of poultry items continues a few more days, their families would be on the verge of starvation. http://www.thestatesman.net/page.new...ss=1&id=190103

[Treyfish]

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

Prices soar before Saraswati puja
Statesman News Service
KOLKATA, Feb. 10: Rising prices of vegetables and fruits, in the wake of the spread of avian influenza in the state, could hardly mar the pre-Saraswati puja preparations of Kolkatans. Moreover, the weather office's assurance of a clear sky and muck-free roads acted as the bonus... http://www.thestatesman.net/page.new...ss=1&id=190132

[mixin]

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

Niman,
When you put the pins in your maps, do you see any kind of spread patterns? North to south.. east to west...clusters?

[HenryN]

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

Niman,
When you put the pins in your maps, do you see any kind of spread patterns? North to south.. east to west...clusters?

The pins are based on reports, which literally are all over the map.

[Treyfish]

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

Bird flu: Chicken sales drop
Srinagar, February 10
Even though there was no report of any bird flu case from any part of the Kashmir valley, the sale of chicken has come down by 35 per cent.
Still there is enough chicken stock in the valley, which remained cut off from the rest of the country for six days due to snowfall and landslides, poultry dealers said.
They said though there was no report of any bird flu case, the sale had come down by 35 to 40 per cent in the valley. Normally people were consuming about 30, 000 birds per day. However, the number goes up during marriage and festival seasons.
With the decline, import of birds from northern states, including Punjab, Haryana and Delhi, has also come down, they said.
Official sources said samples of two migratory birds found dead in a wetland near the border in Jammu tested negative in a Bhopal laboratory. The authorities have already taken adequate measures to prevent transportation of any such virus into the state. They said there was no question of bird flu virus reaching the state from West Bengal. There are several states in between which are still safe, they added.
Officials said a constant check was being carried out at different places even though there was no case of bird flu reported from any part of the state so far. The Animal Husbandry Department organised awareness camps to make people aware about various ailments afflicting cattle and poultry birds, including bird flu, in the valley. They said so far the samples taken for bird flu were found negative and there was no need to worry.
A check post has been set up at Lakhanpore, the gateway of Jammu and Kashmir, bordering Punjab, where doctors and other staff members of the Animal Husbandry Department were posted to check poultry birds before allowing them to enter the state.
Similarly a check post has been set up at Qazigund, they said, adding they had made all arrangements to prevent the virus to enter the state. However, for precautionary measures the department has decided to impose a ban on the movement of poultry during night when proper checking was almost impossible, they said. ? UNI http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080211/j&k.htm#8

[HenryN]

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

Bird flu fear in backyard
Monday February 11 2008 03:20 IST
<small>Express News Service</small>

<small>BHAWANIPATNA: While deadly bird flu has gripped neighbouring state West Bengal, death of chickens in a poultry firm in Chicherla village of Kesinga block, 20 km from here, in past few days has panicked villagers.

A veterinary team visited the poultry farm and collected blood samples for investigation. Chief District Veterinary Officer Kushna Chandra Sasmal said a field investigation revealed that in last two days 70 chickens, including 15 on Sunday, died in the farm. He said from post mortem of birds and symptoms, it can be said that the chicken died due to Ranikhet disease.

However, to be sure, blood samples of dead chicken have been sent to Animal Disease Research Institute (ADRI), Phulnakhra, for further investigation. He said the poultry owner brought the chicks from West Bengal during second week of January. An investigating team from ADRI will reach Kalahandi on Monday.

The poultry owner Trinath Sahu said 1500 chicks have died in his farm during last fortnight. He said the last consignment landed on January 18.</small>
<small></small>
<small>http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems...ORISSA&Topic=0</small>

[Treyfish]

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

<TABLE class="" id=fullstory cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=contenttitle id=content_story_title width=487 colSpan=3>Better safe than sorry</TD></TR><TR><TD class=byline colSpan=3>Amitabh Srivastava</TD></TR><TR><TD class=dateline colSpan=3>February 9, 2008 </TD><TD class=fullstorytext vAlign=top align=right colSpan=2><TABLE id=print_email cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="40%" align=right border=0><SCRIPT language=javascript type=text/javascript>function WinOpen(theURL, utwidth, utheight) { var remoteWin = null; var params; params = 'toolbar=0,location=0,directories=0,status=0,scrol lbars=1,scrolling=1,resizable=1,menubar=0,width='+ utwidth+',height='+utheight; remoteWin = window.open("","colorpicker",params); remoteWin.location.href = theURL;}</SCRIPT><TBODY></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=3 height=15></TD></TR><TR><TD class=fullstorytext vAlign=top align=left colSpan=3><SCRIPT language=JavaScript type=text/javascript>var sburl6061 = window.location.href; var sbtitle6061 = document.title;</SCRIPT><SCRIPT language=JavaScript type=text/javascript>var sbtitle6061=encodeURIComponent("Better safe than sorry"); var sburl6061=decodeURI("http://indiatoday.digitaltoday.in/better-safe-than-sorry.html"); sburl6061=sburl6061.replace(/amp;/g, "");sburl6061=encodeURIComponent(sburl6061);</SCRIPT><!----><!---->



Prevention is always better than cure. And this is why Bihar, which is yet to find a solitary case of the dreaded avian flu, has now ordered culling of chickens in poultries located in areas bordering West Bengal.
The operation has been put to effect because the officials worry that the virus that has the potential to spread to humans can travel to Bihar from the affected adjoining state, West Bengal.
According to experts, the H5N1 strain could mutate into a form easily transmitted from person to person, leading to a pandemic. Worse still, there are no effective vaccines available, should a situation of bird to human transmission arise.
According to Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, the current drive has been initiated in line with the Central Government's direction to undertake preventive culling of birds in the districts adjoining West Bengal where over 30 lakh birds have already been culled so far. Incidentally, Modi also holds the portfolio of Animal Husbandry in Government of Bihar.
Besides Bihar, the Centre has also suggested that Assam, Orissa and Jharkhand undertake culling in the districts that border West Bengal.
These states have to kill the birds in villages falling within five km of their borders with West Bengal as a precautionary measure. This is being done to create a safe corridor.
According to Animal Husbandry Department officials, over 12,000 chickens have already been culled in Katihar, Kishanganj and Purnia districts of Bihar over the past two days.
Out of this, almost 7,000 birds have been culled in Katihar, 3,180 in Purnia and about 2,500 in Kishanganj districts, though not a single case of avian influenza has been reported from anywhere in the state so far. The process is still on.
Animal Husbandry Principal Secretary Anil Kumar said personal protective equipment have been made available to the teams deployed in the culling exercise. "1.5 per cent of the culled poultry would be randomly picked and sent for laboratory examination," he said.
Animal husbandry officials said that the culling operations have been undertaken in as many as 19 blocks of Purnia, Katihar and Kishanganj districts in compliance with a Health Ministry directive to Bihar. The Bihar Government has deputed the state's director of animal husbandry at Katihar to oversee the culling exercise.
The culling teams, however, have also been tasked to comb the households in villages for chickens and ducks that have survived the culling. In some areas, the number of residual birds could run into hundreds, said an official.
But even after the mop-up and disinfection, no poultry would be allowed in the zones where culling has been done for three months, the officer added.
The 90-day ban on poultry in the affected areas will prevent any virus that might be lingering in the environment from getting a fresh chance to infect and multiply in birds, he added.
Earlier, the culling of chickens was ordered in seven villages of Azamnagar block in Katihar district after the bird flu outbreak in West Bengal.
The border areas of Purnia, Kishanganj and Katihar have been hit by a panic wave ever since West Bengal declared the avian flu outbreak on January 15 and sales of chicken and eggs have plummeted there.
Not surprisingly, chicken delicacies have now disappeared from food plates across the state, and a number of marriage ceremonies now are having a menu change with mutton and fish preparations replacing the chicken items.
Chicken traders in Patna, however, are working overtime to convince its patron that processed (cooked) chicken could be bought and consumed. "Unlike bacteria, a virus cannot infect dead organisms," they claimed. The argument, however, has cut little ice so far.
A number of villagers in these three districts, however, have blamed the state government for not informing them about the hazards of bird flu as dozens admitted roasting birds and eating them.
The virus is usually passed on through close contact with infected birds and their faeces. The World Health Organization has said it was India's most serious outbreak.
Joint Director of the Union Animal Husbandry department M.K. Agnihotri is camping in Purnia to supervise the culling operation and measures are being taken to prevent an outbreak of avian flu in Bihar.
Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi said that Rapid Response Teams in these three districts have been formed and 650 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) have been sent to the teams culling the birds.
According to him 10,000 doses of Temi Flu medicine has also been sent to the districts concerned. He said that in Bihar, breeding of chickens was largely unorganised and done in backyards. This is why the officials have been asked to seek cooperation from the panchayats in Katihar, Purnia and Kishanganj for effective culling of the birds.
The State Government has also announced compensation rates according to which poultry owners whose birds have been culled would be paid Rs 40 per bird for poultry birds, Rs 30 for broiler and Rs 10 for chicks.
This is likely to be raised because a number of poultry owners have shown extreme reluctance in allowing the culling operation because of inadequate compensation, said an official.
Incidentally, the Centre has already enhanced the compensation given to farmers for culled poultry birds. The new rate would be applicable with prospective effect.
The new compensation rates envisage a Rs 10 hike for a lair, broiler and chick. Ducks and geese will fetch Rs 75 each against Rs 40 earlier. The compensation for a turkey is set at Rs 160.
Meanwhile, district magistrates of the concerned districts have been tasked to oversee the culling operation. "Besides, two senior officials of the animal husbandry department have been deputed to monitor the culling process in these districts," Modi said.
These measures obviously have been initiated to prevent the similar outbreak of bird flu in Bihar, something that is threatening to spiral out of control in neighbouring West Bengal where the disease apparently has continued to spread.
Incidentally, the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has been found among poultry in West Bengal's Malda district. This assumes special significance for Jharkhand that shares borders with West Bengal from that side and also because poultry transportation between the two states is not uncommon.
Meanwhile, Nepal has banned the import of poultry products from neighbour Indian states, including Bihar. Similarly, Bihar too has banned import of poultry from West Bengal.
On the ground, however, it is difficult to clamp the import because there is no checkpost, and there is no such border between the districts which are seemingly affected or on threat radar, and those which are not.
Veterinarians and scientists said infected birds could have been smuggled out of the affected districts. Orders, however, have been issued to seal its borders to prevent the entry of poultry from the eastern region of the country especially West Bengal, which is fighting its worst ever outbreak of bird flu.
A section of officials also admitted that the culling was slow, while some disease experts said the government had reacted too late.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

http://indiatoday.digitaltoday.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4415&issueid=39&Itemid=1

[Treyfish]

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

Poultry death
Krishnagar: About 1,500 chickens have died over the past two days in a farm in Ranaghat, about 65km from Calcutta. The poultry owner had dumped the dead chickens and 1,500 live birds in a septic tank. Samples from the dead birds have been sent for tests. http://www.telegraphindia.com/108021..._8888214.jsp#2

[mixin]

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

The pins are based on reports, which literally are all over the map.

I spent time yesterday viewing your India map and that was why I asked. Since the heaviest part of poultry deaths goes pretty much straight north out of Calcutta, I was wondering if you noticed any pattern emerging as you pinned the outbreaks.

I thought the 1-28 outbreak in 107 villages in West Mednipur seemed a little isolated; so I zoomed in and found railroad tracks intersected in that area. WHen I saw that was where the dead goats were, I wondered if they had some contamination problems going on also. I also found it curious they culled along the railroad (at least it appears that way on your map) between Kharagpur, Beli and Bali-Chak.

[Giuseppe]

::OIE, FOLLOW-UP REPORT NO. 1::

From OIE Website:
--
Highly pathogenic avian influenza, India


Information received on 09/02/2008 from Dr Pradeep Kumar, Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, New Delhi, India

Summary

Report type ::Follow-up report No. 1 ::
Start date ::04/01/2008 ::
Date of first confirmation of the event ::15/01/2008 ::
Report date ::09/02/2008 ::
Date submitted to OIE ::09/02/2008 ::
Reason for notification Reoccurrence of a listed disease
Date of previous occurrence 02/08/2007
Manifestation of disease Clinical disease
Causal agent Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus Serotype H5N1
Nature of diagnosis Laboratory (basic), Laboratory (advanced)
This event pertains to a defined zone within the country
Related reports Immediate notification (15/01/2008)
Follow-up report No. 1 (09/02/2008)

New outbreaks

*Outbreak 1 - Siti-I, Sagardighi, Beldanga-I, Murshidabad, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 17/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 864512 - 3557 - 3557 - 3181
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms in three villages

*Outbreak 2 - Krishnanagar-I, Nakashapara, Haringhata, Nadia, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 19/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 215840 - 615 - 615 - 27884
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms in three villages

*Outbreak 3 - Panchla, Howrah, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 26/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 126301 - 235 - 235 - 126066
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms

*Outbreak 4 - Khagram, Burdwan, Nowda, Nabagram, Murshidabad, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 15/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 963331 - 12194 - 12194 - 323
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms in four villages

*Outbreak 5 - Balagarh, Hooghly, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 23/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 114927
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms

*Outbreak 6 - Kandi, Murshidabad, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 21/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed -Slaughtered
*Birds - 308278 - 10889 - 10889 - 297389
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms

*Outbreak 7 - Kalyani, Nadia, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 26/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 233125 - 9 - 9 - 233116
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms

*Outbreak 8 - Chachal-I, Malda, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 19/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 229957
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms

*Outbreak 9 - Krishnanagar-I, Tehatta-I, Kaliganj, Nadia, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 17/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 622774 - 613 - 613 - 856 - 0
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms in three villages

*Outbreak 10 - Mayureswar II, Khoirasole, Birbhum, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 22/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 328380 - 2840 - 2840 - 325540
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms in two villages

*Outbreak 11 - Tehatta-II, Nadia, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 15/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 118255 - 1057 - 1057 - 113
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms

*Outbreak 12 - Nalhatti-I, Bolpur-Sriniketan, Birbhum, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 19/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 205353 - 863 - 863 - 95770
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms in two villages

*Outbreak 13 - Suri-I, Mayureshwar I, Nanur, Birbhum, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 26/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 372711 - 25 - 25 - 124402
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms in three villages

*Outbreak 14 - Mangolkote, Purbasthali II, Burdwan, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 15/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 467973 - 9592 - 9592
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms in two villages

*Outbreak 15 - Raniganj, Burdwan, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 23/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 76707 - ... - 76707
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms

*Outbreak 16 - Mayureswar-I, Birbhum, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 25/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 210236 - 53 - 53 - 210183 - 0
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms

*Outbreak 17 - Caning-2, South 24 Parganas, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 25/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 93981 - 2012 - 2012 - 91969
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms

*Outbreak 18 - Saltora, Bankura, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 17/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 64473 - 400 - 400
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms

*Outbreak 19 - Shamsirganj, Murshidabad, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 25/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 211920 - 1975 - 1975 - 209945 - 0
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms

*Outbreak 20 - Mejia, Bankura, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 19/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - ... - 380 - 380 - 800
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms

*Outbreak 21 - Santuri, Purulia, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 22/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 33285 - 130 - 130
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms

*Outbreak 22 - Chanditala-II, Hooghly, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 26/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 35917 - 69 - 69 - 35848
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms

*Outbreak 23 - Mohammed Bazar, Nanur, Birbhum, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 17/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 378551 - 41500 - 41500 - 85657
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms in two villages

*Outbreak 24 - Mathabhanga-I, Coochbehar, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 25/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 28159 - 300 - 300 - 27859
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms

*Outbreak 25 - Raghunathganj-II, Murshidabad, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 26/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 73342 - 469 - 469 - 72873
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms

*Outbreak 26 - Budge-Budge-II, South 24 Parganas, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 25/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - ... - 1188 - 1188
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms

*Outbreak 27 - Dinhata-I, Coochbehar, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 23/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 312640
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms

*Outbreak 28 - Suri-I, Birbhum, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 26/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 14913 - ... - 14913
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms

*Outbreak 29 - Sankrail, Howrah, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 22/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 106270 - 235 - 235
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms

*Outbreak 30 - Ktugram, Jamuria, Galsi, Burdwan, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 19/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 227951 - ... - 90905
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms in three villages

*Outbreak 31 - Debra, Paschim Mednipur, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 25/01/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
* Birds ...
Affected population backyard poultry mainly in small and marginal farms

Summary of outbreaks
Total outbreaks: 31
Total animals affected: Species - Susceptible - Cases - Deaths - Destroyed - Slaughtered
*Birds - 7,040,062 - 91,200 - 91,200 - 2,152,299 - 0

Outbreak statistics
Species - Apparent morbidity rate - Apparent mortality rate - Apparent case fatality rate - Proportion susceptible animals lost*
*Birds - 1.30% - 1.30% - 100.00% - 31.87%
* Removed from the susceptible population through death, destruction and/or slaughter


Epidemiology
Source of the outbreak(s) or origin of infection Unknown or inconclusive

Epidemiological comments
Epidemiological investigation is ongoing. Stamping out of all domestic poultry is being applied in an approximately 5-km-radius zone around the outbreaks followed by compensation of the owners. An intensive surveillance campaign has been launched in a 10-km-radius zone including:
- closure of poultry markets and prohibition on sale and transportation of poultry products in the infected zone;
- disinfection of premises after culling and sealing of premises where appropriate.
Restocking will be applied in accordance with a specific protocol.


Control measures
Measures applied Stamping out
Quarantine
Movement control inside the country
Screening
No vaccination
No treatment of affected animals

Measures to be applied Disinfection of infected premises/establishment(s)
Dipping / Spraying


Diagnostic test results
Laboratory name and type High Security Animal Disease Laboratory, Bhopal (National laboratory)
Tests and results: Species - Test - Test date - Result
*Birds - real-time PCR - 19/01/2008 - Positive
*Birds - real-time PCR - 20/01/2008 - Positive
*Birds - real-time PCR - 22/01/2008 - Positive
*Birds - real-time PCR - 23/01/2008 - Positive
*Birds - real-time PCR - 25/01/2008 - Positive
*Birds - real-time PCR - 27/01/2008 - Positive
*Birds - real-time PCR - 29/01/2008 - Positive
*Birds - real-time PCR - 30/01/2008 - Positive
*Birds - real-time PCR - 02/02/2008 - Positive
*Birds - reverse transcription ? polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) - 19/01/2008 - Positive
*Birds - reverse transcription ? polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) - 20/01/2008 - Positive
*Birds - reverse transcription ? polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) - 22/01/2008 - Positive
*Birds - reverse transcription ? polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) - 23/01/2008 - Positive
*Birds - reverse transcription ? polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) - 25/01/2008 - Positive
*Birds - reverse transcription ? polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) - 27/01/2008 - Positive
*Birds - reverse transcription ? polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) - 29/01/2008 - Positive
*Birds - reverse transcription ? polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) - 30/01/2008 - Positive
*Birds - reverse transcription ? polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) - 02/02/2008 - Positive
*Birds - virus isolation - 19/01/2008 - Positive
*Birds - virus isolation - 20/01/2008 - Positive
*Birds - virus isolation - 22/01/2008 - Positive

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http://www.oie.int/wahid-prod/public.php?page=single_report&pop=1&reportid=6783

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[HenryN]

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

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="90%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=2></TD></TR><TR align=left><TD>Team from Un to monitor flu status
Statesman News Service
MALDA, Feb. 11: "An experts' team from the United Nations' regional office of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Bangkok will visit Bird Flu affected areas in West Bengal including areas of Chanchal sub-division in Malda district", administrative officials said today.
The team will pay attention to the contamination control programme in the affected areas after the outbreak of avian influenza.
The team headed by Mr S Morzaria, chief technical advisor, regional office, FAO, Bangkok , would visit Malda's affected areas tentatively on Wednesday. The team is scheduled to reach West Bengal on Monday and would visit all the affected areas in the state.", Mr Debasish Sarkar, SDO, Chanchal said.
The state authorities have directed the district administration to prepare required reports on the Bird Flu affected areas and the control programme taken up after culling operation and mopping up for the experts' team.
It may be noted that after unnatural deaths of hundreds of backyard chickens at Mahanandapur village in Chanchal Block-I last month, in the northern part of the district, the High Security Animal Disease laboratory (HSADL) in Bhopal had confirmed avian flu.
The state authorities finally had culled more than 86,000 backyard chickens in the region covering 5 km radius from the epicenter Mahanandapur in Malda and North Dinajpur areas.
But the area within 5 km radius belonging to Katihar district in Bihar was reportedly left out while the culling operation was going on in West Bengal areas.
"The staff from animal resources development and labourers directly engaged in culling and mopping were quarantined for 10 days and many of them released on 10 February.
"Only 15 people, who were engaged in the mopping drive during the second phase to kill left out birds in Chanchal Block , have been quarantined and they would be released on 15 and 16 February", district officials said.
According to the Malda chief medical officer, no cases of human avian flu have been detected in this region after a door to door survey was conducted.
Following government's direction, the district administration has started another joint survey comprising ARD officials and local panchayat officials to finalise the list of beneficiaries to provide compensation in the Bird Flu affected zone here.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=10&theme=&usrsess=1&id=190265

[AlaskaDenise]

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

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02...a_Suspect.html

Commentary

Suspect H5N1 in Nadia West Bengal

Recombinomics Commentary 18:18
February 10, 2008

over 1,300 chickens died of a mysterious disease in different poultry farms in Ranaghat-II block in Nadia. The symptoms of the disease are similar to avian influenza. The district authorities sent a team to collect samples and take note of the situation.

The above comments describe suspect H5N1 deaths in Nadia, West Bengal. Although there has been extensive culling in India in the region, H5N1 confirmations have been high in adjacent Bangladesh, in poultry and wild birds (see satellite maps here here here)

The likelihood that culling and border sealing will stop the spread is low. The most effective halt of confirmed H5N1 has been to limit testing.


.

[AlaskaDenise]

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

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02...a_Suspect.html

Commentary

Suspect H5N1 in Orissa India

Recombinomics Commentary 22:52
February 10, 2008

Official sources , including KC Sasmal, chief district veterinary officer confirmed reports of bird deaths at a farm near Kesinga. "At least 55 birds have died over two days",he said.

The above comments describe suspect H5N1 in Orissa (see satellite maps here here here). Orissa has not confirmed H5N1, although there have been excessive poultry deaths in border areas and a precautionary cull has been ordered. The deaths described above are well south of the border with West Bengal, and would cause alarm if H5N1 was verified.

The level of H5N1 in west Bengal poultry and wild birds suggests that the culling in West Bengal and Bangladesh will not prevent H5N1 from spreading into adjacent regions, with or without border culling.


.

[HenryN]

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

Commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02110802/FAO_Malda.html