KOLKATA (Reuters) - Preliminary results of tests taken after thousands of backyard poultry died in West Bengal over the past 10 days showed they were infected with bird flu, but it was unclear if it was the H5N1 virus, officials said.
More than 10,000 birds died in Margram village of Birbhum district in West Bengal.
"The preliminary tests showed the birds have died from bird flu, but we still don't know whether it is the deadly H5N1 strain," Sunil Kumar Bhowmik, chief medical officer of Birbhum, told Reuters.
"We will quarantine people if we find anybody sick and intensify culling tomorrow morning until we get the confirmation in a few days," Bhowmik said.
Thousands of birds in India were culled in 2006 following three separate outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 virus in Maharastra.
Neighbouring Bangladesh is still reeling under bird flu with around 21 of the country's 64 districts affected by the deadly virus.
Experts fear the H5N1 virus might mutate or combine with the highly contagious seasonal influenza virus and spark a pandemic that could kill millions of people.
Bird flu has killed more than 210 people in 12 countries since 2003, the World Health Organisation says.
Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths
Rampurhat, January 14, 2008
25,000 birds die, avian flu scare in Bengal
Around 25,000 poultry birds have died in a farm along the India-Bangladesh border at Margram in Rampurhat area of Birbhum district on Sunday, sparking fears of a bird flu breakout.
The disease was also reported from Moulabibazar area in northeastern Bangladesh, it was learnt.
Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) in Birbhum SK Bhowmick said: "It might be a case of bird flu. Thousands of chickens have died of bird flu-like symptoms in the farm in the past few days. We have already taken all preventive measures and sent samples of dead birds to the Bhopal laboratory."
Dr SC Dubey, director of the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) in Bhopal, refused to comment on the matter.
Reports of birds dying in large numbers are coming from many parts of the district. Local residents said hens have been dying of an unknown disease over the past 10 days in Margram village under Margram police station.
Dr Santanu Bandopadhayay, animal husbandry commissioner under the agricultural ministry in New Delhi said the Bhopal lab has not sent any reports yet.
On Sunday, officials of the Bengal animal husbandry department and the Birbhum district civil, health and police administration held a meeting at Margram on the issue.
Ten days ago, a Margram farmer, Bhutto Sk, noticed some of his hens looking drowsy. "The hens stood at one place for a few hours, keeping their heads low as if they were feeling drowsy. Then, they died. 50 of my hens died just like that," he said.
District administration sources reveled that all 95 self-help groups in the village are engaged in the poultry business.
"We also saw the hens looking drowsy. When one of these birds were killed, we found several blood clots," said Asmuda Khatun, another poultry farmer.
Panicked villagers have started cooking the diseased hens. "We don't know what to do. We have invested a lot of our money in this business," said Bablu Mal, a farmer.
There are many others like Bablu, who are eating the diseased hens.
Though the district civil administration has not confirmed whether it is "bird flu", it has cautioned villagers. "We have restricted selling of hens in the village and told villagers to separate the diseased hens and prevent hens from moving out of their pens," said Tapan Kumar Shome, Birbhum DM.
Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths
‘Bird Flu’ in Birbhum
RAMPURHAT, Jan. 13: Panic gripped Muraroi, a small settlement in Birbhum, after at least 25,000 chickens were found dead from a mysterious disease over the past seven days.
The district authorities have contacted experts of the Union animal resource development ministry. An experts’ team arrived in the district today. Officials said the symptoms of the disease are similar to avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, caused by the deadly H5N1 virus.
With experts fearing the disease to be a critical one, the district authorities issued an alert in the area this afternoon. Earlier, a meeting was held between senior district officials and experts from New Delhi.
The district authorities announced the closure of all meat shops in the area and asked the people to stay away from their chickens. Precautionary measures have been taken by the local administration and self-help groups are holding awareness camps.
The experts have collected samples from the dead birds to the Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal for a confirmation test.
Reports are expected tomorrow. Mr Prasun Kumar Mondal, SDO Rampurhat, said: “A meeting was held today with directors and officials of the Union ministry.
Precautionary measures have been adopted by the administration to stop the spread of the disease. Export and import of birds from the area have been prohibited. The Centre is helping to control the situation.”
Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths
snip:
“We have already received the report from the Bhopal laboratory. They have confirmed that it is a case of bird flu"
Suspected bird flu outbreak has Bengal on alert, final report awaited
Monday, January 14, 2008
Bhopal lab cautions after sample test, unclear if it’s deadly H5N1 virus
KOLKATA, JANUARY 13: Alerted by the Bhopal-based High Security Animal Disease Laboratory, the West Bengal government is bracing itself to contain a possible outbreak of avian flu at Margram in Birbhum district.
Preliminary results of tests taken after some 10,000 backyard poultry died in Margram over the past 10 days showed they were infected but it was unclear if it was the deadly H5N1 virus.
Thousands of birds in the country were culled in 2006 following separate outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 virus in Maharashtra.
Bangladesh, which borders West Bengal, is still reeling under bird flu with around 21 of the country’s 64 districts affected by the deadly virus.
West Bengal Minister for Animal Resource Development Anisur Rahman told The Indian Express today: “We sent samples to the Bhopal laboratory which, in its preliminary report, suggested that it could be avian flu.
They advised us to take all possible measures to prevent it from spreading. I have asked the district administration to stop the exchange of poultry to and from the area. I have also sent several officials to the spot. The Centre, which has been apprised of the situation, has also sent an official there. Tomorrow, if we get the confirmation in the final report, we will order culling of birds.”
State Director of Health Services Sanchita Bakshi said no alarm had been sounded. “Around 500 birds have died. We have sent samples for testing at laboratories in Delhi and Bhopal. We are waiting for the confirmation,” Bakshi said.
But Birbhum Zila Sabhadhipati Manasa Hasda maintained these were cases of avian flu. “We have already received the report from the Bhopal laboratory. They have confirmed that it is a case of bird flu. Bird trade going in and out of Birbhum will be stopped,” said Hasda, adding that 25 mobile vans will be deployed from tomorrow to spread awareness on avian flu.
Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths
First Published: 00:54 IST(14/1/2008)
Last Updated: 01:03 IST(14/1/2008)
25,000 birds die, avian flu scare in Bengal
Around 25,000 poultry birds have died in a farm along the India-Bangladesh border at Margram in Rampurhat area of Birbhum district on Sunday, sparking fears of a bird flu breakout.
The disease was also reported from Moulabibazar area in northeastern Bangladesh, it was learnt.
Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) in Birbhum SK Bhowmick said: "It might be a case of bird flu. Thousands of chickens have died of bird flu-like symptoms in the farm in the past few days. We have already taken all preventive measures and sent samples of dead birds to the Bhopal laboratory."
Dr SC Dubey, director of the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) in Bhopal, refused to comment on the matter.
Reports of birds dying in large numbers are coming from many parts of the district. Local residents said hens have been dying of an unknown disease over the past 10 days in Margram village under Margram police station.
Dr Santanu Bandopadhayay, animal husbandry commissioner under the agricultural ministry in New Delhi said the Bhopal lab has not sent any reports yet.
On Sunday, officials of the Bengal animal husbandry department and the Birbhum district civil, health and police administration held a meeting at Margram on the issue.
Ten days ago, a Margram farmer, Bhutto Sk, noticed some of his hens looking drowsy. "The hens stood at one place for a few hours, keeping their heads low as if they were feeling drowsy. Then, they died. 50 of my hens died just like that," he said.
District administration sources reveled that all 95 self-help groups in the village are engaged in the poultry business.
"We also saw the hens looking drowsy. When one of these birds were killed, we found several blood clots," said Asmuda Khatun, another poultry farmer.
Panicked villagers have started cooking the diseased hens. "We don't know what to do. We have invested a lot of our money in this business," said Bablu Mal, a farmer.
There are many others like Bablu, who are eating the diseased hens.
Though the district civil administration has not confirmed whether it is "bird flu", it has cautioned villagers. "We have restricted selling of hens in the village and told villagers to separate the diseased hens and prevent hens from moving out of their pens," said Tapan Kumar Shome, Birbhum DM.
Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths
Web Release 2008
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary in India
January 9, 2008
NEW DELHI - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Michael O. Leavitt is visiting India. Secretary Leavitt is visiting sites in Chennai, Hyderabad, Cochin, and New Delhi that produce food and medicine for export to the United States as well as health care facilities that deliver polio vaccine and provide care and treatment for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. He will meet with senior officials in the Indian Government, business leaders in the export community, as well as university students and faculty. This trip is the Secretary's fourth trip to Asia since taking office at HHS.
Suspect H5N1 in West Bengal India Recombinomics Commentary 15:51
January 13, 2008
Preliminary results of tests taken after thousands of backyard poultry died in West Bengal over the past 10 days showed they were infected with bird flu, but it was unclear if it was the H5N1 virus, officials said.
More than 10,000 birds died in Margram village of Birbhum district in West Bengal.
The above comments suggest that H5N1 has been detected in West Bengal, India. Such an outbreak would not be a surprise, because adjacent Bangladesh has been reporting H5N1 outbreaks almost daily (see satellite map). Similarly, Pakistan recently reported the most sustained human to human transmission of H5N1 and Saudi Arabia has culled over 5 million birds, as Egypt and Israel report new outbreaks and Iran has sent samples to Italy for confirmation. H5N1 is also being reported throughout Europe, as OIE officials say there are just two hotspots west of China (in Egypt and Nigeria).
H5N1 has been spreading under the radar of abysmal surveillance programs, and now poultry outbreaks are being widely reported.
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__________________
"The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation
KOLKATA (Reuters) - India began culling thousands of chickens on Monday and checking people for fever in a remote village in West Bengal after preliminary tests on dead poultry showed they were infected with bird flu.
But officials were still testing to see if the latest outbreak of avian influenza was of the H5N1 strain.
Health workers wearing protective suits and masks began scanning backyard poultry around Margram village where more than 10,000 chickens died in the past 10 days.
West Bengal borders Bangladesh, which is badly affected by bird flu with almost a third of the country's 64 districts affected by the virus.
"Not just the villages, we are also looking to cull chickens in a nearby town as most people there have backyard poultry," Mrinal Majumder, a West Bengal police officer, said.
"We have cleared roads, restricted movement of people and stopped people from selling chickens (in the area)."
Officials said they were receiving reports of dead birds from more villages. They estimate the number of birds that need to be culled at "several thousands".
India, home to tens of millions of farmers who keep poultry in their yards, has seen three major outbreaks of bird flu in poultry since 2006, all of which were brought under control. No human cases have been reported in India.
Experts fear the H5N1 virus might mutate or combine with the highly contagious seasonal influenza virus and spark a pandemic that could kill millions of people.
Bird flu has killed more than 210 people in 12 countries since 2003, the World Health Organisation says.
Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths
18,000 poultry birds die in West Bengal
Special Correspondent
KOLKATA: The deaths of more than 18,000 poultry birds in over five days in two blocks of West Bengal’s Birbhum district have triggered the fear of an outbreak of a bird flu epidemic. Samples have been sent to the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory, Bhopal, to ascertain whether or not the deaths were caused by avian flu. The deaths were reported from the Rampurhat area of the district between January 8 and 12, Principal Secretary, Animal Resources Development department, D.K. Chakravarty said.
A team from the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries of the Union Ministry of Agriculture was in the area, he said.
NEW DELHI/KOLKATA: The deadly H5N1 avian influenza or bird flu virus in poultry may have resurfaced in India, this time in West Bengal's Birbhum district. The possibility seems strong with nearly 19,000 chickens having died in the village of Margram, 125 km from Kolkata, between January 8 and 13.
Even though an initial report from the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) in Bhopal and clinical symptoms like high mortality among birds point at a H5N1 outbreak, both the health and animal husbandry departments are officially tightlipped. Officials say a final HSADL report is awaited, which will confirm a possible outbreak. Bird samples have also been sent to National Institute of Virology, Pune.
Union health secretary Naresh Dayal said on Monday: "The clinical symptoms do point at bird flu. But final reports are awaited from HSADL and NIV." West Bengal animal resources development minister Anisur Rehman said: "Preliminary tests suggest bird flu to be the cause of the deadly infection. But my hunch is that it is Ranikhet disease."
But if H5N1 is confirmed, this will be the fourth time that India has been hit by the virus in the past two years. In February 2006, bird flu hit Maharashtra and Gujarat. On July 25, 2007, it hit Manipur. This time the suspected outbreak has come about less than two months since India declared itself free of the virus, after the cases in Manipur.
Meanwhile, wasting no time, the West Bengal government on Monday sounded a bird flu alert. The administration in Birbhum has already imposed a ban on sale of birds in Rampurhat municipal area and the two neighbouring blocks — Rampurhat I and Rampuhat II — from where abnormal mortality of chickens have been reported. The state's borders have also been sealed to prevent entry of chicken from Bangladesh which has been badly affected by the virus.
District officials have started distributing leaflets in the area urging residents not to buy chicken. The leaflets also warned villagers to put on gloves while feeding their backyard poultry or wild birds. Animal husbandry officials have already decided to cull birds and poultry stocks within a five-km radius of Margram. Culling is expected to start from Tuesday. Sources said that India could officially declare a bird flu outbreak on Tuesday. Over 50 rapid response teams have been formed to carry out surveillance on bird deaths as well as human population reporting symptoms like fever and cough.
Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths
First report confirms bird flu in West Bengal, Central health teams at Ground Zero
Posted online: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 0031 hrs IST BIDYUT ROY & AMITAV RANJAN
MARGRAM, NEW DELHI, JANUARY 14
As West Bengal worked on an action plan to contain a suspected outbreak of avian flu in two blocks of Birbhum district, an Agriculture Ministry official in New Delhi today said the “preliminary report is confirmatory (for avian flu). The outbreak will be declared tomorrow once the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (in Bhopal) sends its report on specifics such as identification of the strain.”
While villagers in Birbhum’s affected Margram area feasted on dead birds, unaware why their poultry was dying, Rampurhat Block Medical Officer Abhijit Roychoudhury said: “We have been informed that after primary screening, the H5N1 virus has been identified. We are taking a number of measures. A medical team is being prepared. Already Tamiflu drugs are here. Now it is up to the Union Government to notify the area as affected by H5N1. After notification, we will take action.”
In New Delhi, Union Health Secretary Naresh Dayal said the Ministry has already sent large doses of the preventive Tamiflu drug to the state. “Samples of the dead birds have been sent to the laboratory in Bhopal. The final report has not come yet, but there is an indication that it may be bird flu,” he said, adding that samples have also been sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune. “If and when we get a confirmation that it is bird flu, that is the deadly H5N1, we will declare an outbreak,” he said.
The Department of Animal Husbandry in the Ministry issued instructions for setting up a control room and dispatched Joint Commissioner A B Negi to Kolkata to coordinate the culling of birds that will start tomorrow. Birbhum and South Dinajpur districts have reported large number of poultry deaths with Rampurhat II in Birbhum reporting 10,800 dead out of 15,000 affected and South Dinajpur reporting 2,964 birds affected, an official said. One state-run poultry farm in South Dinajpur reported 230 deaths out of 247 affected, the official added.
The Centre sent two experts from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) who met district medical officers in Margram. Although the state government’s alert had reached the district magistrate last evening, the animal husbandry department staff hadn’t fanned out today. Villagers learnt of a possible outbreak only when the media showed up. Officials of the state Animal Resource Development Department had collected samples from from Margram I and Margram II gram panchayat areas under Rampurhat Block II on January 8 and sent them to Bhopal for testing. Last evening, the Bhopal laboratory sent a message to the state government, confirming the presence of a virus though it said more tests needed to be done to confirm if it was the deadly H5N1 strain.
Sunil Kumar Bhowmick, Birbhum Chief Medical Officer of Health, said “preliminary tests have confirmed that this is bird flu, an isolation ward has been opened in Rampurhat hospital.” An estimated 15,000 birds have perished here since December 29. But clearly, no visible steps have been taken to contain the spread of the virus — dead birds continue to litter the area. Margram II’s block livestock development officer Debrup Roy said: “I came to know only today.” The organised poultry sector has not been affected so far but the virus seems to have hit backyard poultry in almost every household of Margram I block. Most farmers rear livestock as well as the free-range ‘desi’ chicken for eggs or for sale in the local market.
Used to outbreaks of the Ranikhet disease, the villagers have been killing the sick birds and cooking them. Kazem Sheik of Begumpara in Margram lost some 40 birds in the last 12 days. “Initially, we had a lot of chicken curry,” said Sheikh. “Now we have only one hen left.”
Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths
Bird flu test puts Birbhum on six-day wait
OUR BUREAU
A child with dead chickens at her home near Margram on Monday. Picture by DK Chakraborty
Bhopal/Santiniketan, Jan. 14: The High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal today said there was no reason to panic as samples sent from Birbhum had not yet tested positive for bird flu but the district authorities geared up to cull chickens.
Over 15,000 chickens have died in Margram, about 280km from Calcutta, and some other villages over the past 10 days.
The director of the Bhopal laboratory, S.C. Dubey, said: “There is no need to panic. We have received samples from Margram and Dinapur. Our scientists are conducting tests and it will take six days to arrive at any conclusion.”
He denied reports that either he or his lab had indicated the possibility of the existence of the deadly H5N1 virus in the samples. “We work according to WHO guidelines and, therefore, are in no position to confirm anything till the entire process has been completed,” Dubey said.
Animal resources development minister Anisur Rahman yesterday said the Centre had told the state government that preliminary reports on the samples sent to Bhopal suggested bird flu.
Some samples have also been sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune.
Rahman today said: “There is no confirmation yet on whether the deaths were caused by bird flu or the Ranikhet disease but we have issued a statewide alert.”
At Birbhum headquarters Suri, district magistrate Tapan Kumar Som drew up plans to begin culling the moment bird flu was confirmed.
“All chickens within a 5km radius of the affected area will have to be killed. The government will compensate the owners,” he said.
Selling and buying chickens have been banned in Rampurhat blocks I and II and the Rampurhat municipal area.
Fifty teams have been formed for the culling exercise. Teams have been sent to disinfect areas where the culling will take place.
A campaign on bird flu was launched over public address systems and leaflets mentioning dos and don’ts were distributed in Rampurhat.
“We have asked villagers to cover their face and hands while providing feed to chickens. Also, we are asking them to use plastic packets as gloves while handling chicken. Diseased chickens have to be isolated,” an official said.
An isolation ward has been opened at Rampurhat Hospi- tal under instructions from Calcutta.
In Bhopal, Dubey said his lab had taken almost a week to confirm the outbreak of avian flu in Nandurbar district of Maharashtra in 2006 and in Imphal, Manipur, last year.
“The (Birbhum) district authorities are advised to take precautions in the meantime,” Dubey said.
In Nandurbar, about a million birds had to be culled after the existence of the H5N1 virus was confirmed.
The virus causes a type of influenza in birds that is highly contagious among them and can be deadly. It does not usu- ally infect people unless they come in close contact with infected birds or contaminated surfaces.
The bird flu scare has come barely a week after the Union agriculture ministry claimed that the country had achieved freedom from the disease on November 7 last year. It had notified the WHO accordingly.
Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths
Margram, Birbhum, Jan 14 The initial reports of bird flu among the poultry population in this part of West Bengal's Birbhum district galvanised the top district administration into holding a series of meetings through Monday, even as villagers remained unaware of the causes and feasted on chicken curry to make the best of a huge loss.
Abhijit Roychoudhury, block medical officer of health (BMOH) of the affected Rampurhat Block II, said: "We have been informed that, after primary screening, H5N1 virus has been identified. We are taking a number of measures. A medical team is being prepared."
"Already Tamiflu drugs are here. Now it is up to union government to notify the area as affected by H5N1. We will take action after the notification," Roychoudhury said after a after a marathon meeting with district officials and doctors. Tamiflu is the standard antiviral drug used for H5N1 infections in humans.
The Union government has sent two experts from the Institute of Communicable Diseases to the area. The experts met with medical officers who were brought to Margram from several parts of the district.
Although the state government's alert reached the district magistrate on Sunday evening, ground staff of the animal husbandry and resources development department were yet to be sent into action and villagers were alerted to the seriousness of the situation only by the appearance of media.
Officials of the animal resources development department had collected samples from Margram I and Margram II gram panchayat areas under Rampurhat Block II on
January 8 and sent them for testing to the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal.
On Sunday evening, the Bhopal lab sent a message to the state government confirming the presence of the bird flue virus.
The district's chief medical officer of health (CMOH), Sunil Kumar Bhowmick, said: "Preliminary tests have confirmed that this is bird flu. It has already been reported to the district administration. An isolation ward has been opened in Rampurhat hospital.
With around 15,000 birds estimated to have died since December 29, when the first reports of unusual deaths surfaced here, dead birds lie all over the landscape and no steps were visible to contain the spread of the virus --- which shows itself first by causing drowsiness in the hens in the morning and completes its job by evening. The block livestock development officer (BLDO) of Margram II, Debrup Roy, said: "I came to know only today."
Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths
Culling begins in Bengal
Kolkata, January 15, 2008
First Published: 02:16 IST(15/1/2008)
Last Updated: 02:19 IST(15/1/2008)
Culling of thousands of chickens began in West Bengal on Monday after preliminary tests on dead poultry indicated they had bird flu. Unconfirmed reports said more than 50,000 poultry died showing bird flu symptoms in many farms run by state government-sponsored self-help groups.
“Bird samples were sent for testing to the High Security Animal Testing Laboratory in Bhopal and the National Institute of Virology in Pune on Sunday and the results confirming whether it is the H5 strain are expected by Tuesday or Wednesday. The sequencing of the N1 component will take longer,” said Dr Shiv Lal, director, National Institute of Communicable Diseases, New Delhi.
Two NICD experts have reached Margram village in the Rampurhat area of Birbhum district, where most of the birds have died with indications that they were affected by the dreaded disease. Besides, the state's health department has sent 110 veterinary doctors to the spot.
“About 18,300 poultry birds have died during the last six days in the two gram panchayat areas of Rampurhat,” said state Animal Resource Development Minister Anisur Rehman. He, however, said there is no confirmation that the poultry died due to bird flu.
The minister said the state government had instructed all poultry farms to keep a strict vigil. Sale of poultry has been banned in the affected areas of Rampurhat I and II blocks. The Indo-Bangladesh border has been sealed to ensure that no poultry or related products enter the state from Bangladesh. A senior official of the Birbhum district administration said, “There might be every possibility of the bird flu infection spreading among local people who either ate affected chickens or came into close contact with the affected birds during the past week.” A senior official of the state’s health department said that about 4,000 Tamiflu tablets were sent to the village where thousands of poultry birds are dying with symptoms of drowsiness and malfunctioning lungs.
India has been on high alert ever since bird flu was detected in neighbouring Bangladesh in December. New Delhi has banned poultry trade with bird flu-hit countries such as China, Bangladesh and Myanmar but people continue to smuggle poultry across the borders. “It is a difficult and very porous border, but we have measures in place that have been further tightened,” said an official of the Union Animal Husbandry Department.http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryP...gins+in+Bengal
Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths
Bird flu alert in West Bengal district Suri (WB), Jan 14: The death of thousands of home-bred chickens in Birbhum region over the past one week has prompted district authorities to sound a bird flu alert in two blocks.
District Magistrate Tapan Kumar Shome today said “all departments concerned have been alerted. The villagers have been asked not to sell or buy chicken.
They have also been asked to wear masks and cover their hands and legs while feeding birds.” Though neither the district administration nor the veterenary department confirmed an outbreak of birdflu, a preliminary report from the High Security Animal Husbandry Laboratory in Bhopal has apparently confirmed the disease affecting poultry there, official sources said.
N D Bhowmick, deputy director of state Aimal Resource Department, said “the pattern of 60-62 per cent mortality rate is alarming in the block II of Rampurhat. The Rampurhat block I has also reported some cases.
“Samples had been collected and sent to the Bhopal laboratory. But right now we cannot describe it as an outbreak of bird flu because the laboratory will submit its final report to the department concerned of the Central government and they will make the necesary announcement,” Bhowmick said.
The problem was that the birds affected are home-bred, the sources said. Villagers of Margram of Rampurhat II block had informed the village panchayat that the birds they reared were dying following a brief period of drowsiness. When the number increased rapidly in the last week, the district asdministration took up the matter seriously.
Officers of the animal resources department from New Delhi and Kolkata arrived here on Saturday and started monitoring the situation and taking precautionary measures. They also held a high-level meeting yesterday. (PTI)http://www.sentinelassam.com/sentine...ational.htm#a1
Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths
No proof of flu virus but WB starts culling lakhs of chickens
Pioneer News Service | Kolkata
The West Bengal Government has ordered the mass culling of lakhs of chickens in Birbhum district and other areas, although there is no evidence as yet of avian flu. Samples have been sent to High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal. The laboratory will take at least a week for its tests before it can come up with a conclusive report.
"The Government is taking seriously the death of 20,000 birds in the past few days," State Animal Husbandry Minister Anisur Rehman said and quoted the Central Livestock Commissioner in Delhi as saying that it could be 'bird flu'.
The Government was not sure however whether the deaths were caused by the more deadly strains of the virus. Health Department officials while quickly passing the buck said "the Animal Resources Department will be able to tell you better."
Birbhum Collector TK Som said he did not have specific directions from the Government on mass culling but said "we have restricted the movement of birds from the district and are ready for the culling job. We have asked poultry farm owners to stop dealing in chicken and take other precautions." According to another senior official, more than 60 per cent mortality rate among the birds was alarming and any moment an outbreak could be declared.
"We are waiting for the Centre's directive and we will declare it as soon as we get one," Government sources said adding they were waiting for the final confirmation from the Bhopal-based Animal Husbandry Laboratory.
Tamiflu tablets the standard medicine prescribed for the diseases have been sent to the district and the Health Department is keeping stocks ready for a contingency. According to experts the disease might have come in from neighbouring Bangladesh which has been fighting the diseases for the past one year or so.
Samples reach HSADL, results in a week
Pioneer News Service | Bhopal
Samples from Margram in the Rampurhat area of Birbhum district in West Bengal following deaths of thousands of poultry birds have reached the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) in Bhopal. The examination of the samples would probably get completed within a week after which the report would be sent to the Union Ministry of Agriculture as well as the authorities of the concerned district.
Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths
Birbhum gets ready to cull poultry birds
Sabyasachi Roy
RAMPURHAT, Jan. 14: Birbhum district authorities have made all arrangements to carry out culling of poultry birds in Rampurhat area after thousands of chickens died in the area over the past few days.
Though officially, the disease was not declared as avian flu or bird flu, a senior district official told The Statesman: “A preliminary report from the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory, Bhopal has confirmed the presence of H5N1 virus here. We have kept all required arrangements ready to tackle the situation as soon as we get the final report, which is expected to reach by tomorrow.” “The pattern of 60-62 per cent death rate of chicken is alarming in Rampurhat Block-II. The Rampurhat Block-I has also reported some cases. We have already alerted all the concerned departments in Rampurhat-I, Rampurhat II, a portion of Nalhati-II blocks in Birbhum and two panchayats namely Parulia and Sabalda in Murshidabad’s Khorgram Block,” said the official. Officials also said a team from the state veterinary department comprising 300 officials had reached the area to help in precautionary measures.Villagers have been asked to wear masks and cover their hands and legs while feeding birds. A two-member team of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) has been sent to collect samples from parts of Birbhum and South Dinajpur districts in West Bengal where deaths of poultry have been reportedhttp://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.p...esman/400x60/0
Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths
Avian flu scare grips W Bengal
Ajoy K Das
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 05:26 IST
KOLKATA: The West Bengal administration is readying to cull lakhs of chickens over the next three days following resurfacing of bird flu in the state that has reportedly led to around 10,000 chickens dying over the past few days.
Health officials are however still testing samples to determine whether the latest outbreak of avian influenza is of the H5N1 strain. In a single district in Birbhum, thousands of chicken have been reported to have died from bird flu in Margram village. Officials from Centre’s animal husbandry department have landed in Birhbum, who along with state government health officials have fanned out across the district in protective suits, quarantining villagers in affected villages and handing out masks. Villagers are being instructed to stop all buying and selling of chicken.
The state government has not yet officially declared the outbreak of bird flu as it is awaiting final test reports of samples from the Animal Husbandry Laboratory in Bhopal, but the district administration has been put on high alert and logistics for culling lakhs of birds are being put in place.
A two member team of National Institute of Communicable Disease (NICD) are already in Birbhum to collect samples and prepare a preliminary report.
Menawhile the Union health secretary Naresh Dayal said in Delhi that the ministry has already sent large doses of the preventive Tamiflu drug to the state.
“Culling will take place in villages as well as towns where many people have poultry in their backyards. We have already taken all precautionary measures in Birbhum, like restricting movement of people along the highways and halting all trade in poultry products in the region,” said a district official.
State health officials said that the latest outbreak could have spread from Bangladesh which is still reeling under avian influenza.
They fear that if the H5N1 strain is confirmed by the Animal Husbandry Laboratory, there is a distinct possibility that the virus may have mutated or combined with other contagious viruses which could pose the threat of a pandemic.
The first case of avian influenza was reported in India in July last year, ever since the country was declared to be free of bird flu in August 2006. http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1145174
Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths
Bird flu: Emergency plans in West Bengal
Mohuya Chaudhuri
Monday, January 14, 2008 (Birbhum)
Bird flu may have resurfaced in India, this time in West Bengal's Birbhum district. At least ten thousand birds have died in just one village, Margram, over the past ten days.
While the entire state remains on alert, personnel from the Centre's Animal husbandry department are in the area to assess the situation and advise residents.
The state government is also preparing for culling in Birbhum, where the movement of poultry has been restricted. Three lakh birds will be culled in the next ten days over an area of ten gram panchayats.
Villages are being quarantined and masks being given to villagers as part of the efforts to contain the deadly virus.
The state medical authorities however, say there is no confirmation whether this is the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus as laboratory reports are yet to come in.
District Magistrate Tapan Kumar Shome said ''all departments concerned have been alerted. The villagers have been asked not to sell or buy chicken. They have also been asked to wear masks and cover their hands and legs while feeding birds.''
Though neither the district administration nor the veterenary department confirmed an outbreak of birdflu, a preliminary report from the High Security Animal Husbandry Laboratory in Bhopal has apparently confirmed the disease affecting poultry there, official sources said.
Villagers of Margram of Rampurhat II block had informed the village panchayat that the birds they reared were dying following a brief period of drowsiness.
When the number increased rapidly in the last week, the district asdministration took up the matter seriously.
Neighbouring Bangladesh is still reeling under bird flu with around 21 of the country's 64 districts affected by the deadly virus.
Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths
Thousands of chickens being culled over fears of bird flu
Published: Tuesday, 15 January, 2008, 02:21 AM Doha Time
A poultry owner buries dead chickens in a paddy field in Margram village, about 240km north of Kolkata yesterday
KOLKATA: India began culling thousands of chickens yesterday and checking people for fever in a remote eastern village after preliminary tests on dead poultry showed they were infected with bird flu.
But officials were still testing to see if the latest outbreak of avian influenza was of the H5N1 strain.
Health workers wearing protective suits and masks began scanning backyard poultry around Margram village in West Bengal state where more than 10,000 chickens died in the past 10 days.
West Bengal borders Bangladesh, which is badly affected by bird flu with almost a third of the country’s 64 districts affected by the virus.
“Not just the villages, we are also looking to cull chickens in a nearby town as most people there have backyard poultry,” Mrinal Majumder, a West Bengal police officer, said.
“We have cleared roads, restricted movement of people and stopped people from selling chickens (in the area).”
Samples from the affected birds were sent to the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) in Bhopal to determine the cause of death.
“All departments concerned have been alerted,” administration official Tapan Shome said. “The villagers have been asked not to sell or buy chicken. They have also been asked to wear masks and cover their hands and legs while feeding birds.”
Officials said they were receiving reports of dead birds from more villages. They estimate the number of birds that need to be culled at “several thousands”.
Top officials of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) and the department of animal husbandry have rushed to West Bengal.
“We have sent two deputy directors, J Khan and Ramesh Agarwal, to take stock of the situation in West Bengal. They will interact with field officers and prepare a report on the alleged outbreak of the disease,” NICD Director General Shiv Lal said in New Delhi.
Two officials of the department of animal husbandry, joint commissioner A B Negi and assistant commissioner Sujit Dutta, are also in West Bengal.
Lal said the deaths cannot be termed a bird flu outbreak until the HSADL gives its report.
HSADL chief S C Dubey said: “The testing is underway. It can normally take six days.”
“Tomorrow, Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss will hold a joint monitoring group meeting with the Department of Animal Husbandry,” Lal said.
Officials of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), NICD and Director General of Health Services (DGHS) will attend the meeting, a health ministry official said.
India, home to tens of millions of farmers who keep poultry in their yards, has seen three major outbreaks of bird flu in poultry since 2006, all of which were brought under control. No human cases have been reported in India.
Experts fear the H5N1 virus might mutate or combine with the highly contagious seasonal influenza virus and spark a pandemic that could kill millions of people.
Bird flu has killed more than 210 people in 12 countries since 2003, the World Health Organisation says.- Agencies
H5N1 Confirmed in West Bengal India Recombinomics Commentary 23:20
January 14, 2008
We have been informed that, after primary screening, H5N1 virus has been identified.
On Sunday evening, the Bhopal lab sent a message to the state government confirming the presence of the bird flue virus.
The district's chief medical officer of health (CMOH), Sunil Kumar Bhowmick, said: "Preliminary tests have confirmed that this is bird flu. It has already been reported to the district administration. An isolation ward has been opened in Rampurhat hospital.
The above comments indicate H5N1 has been confirmed in West Bengal, India (see satellite map). Although some media reports cite six more days for confirmation, it seems likely that the six days are for a pathogenicity test. However, Qinghai H5N1 generally kills all experimentally infected birds in 1-2 days, so the test is completed quickly.
However, sequencing of the HA cleavage site is sufficient to determine that H5 is high path, as well as determine the strain. The Qinghai strain, and the Uva Lake derivative, has a characteristic cleavage site of GERRRKKR.
The large number of dead birds, coupled with ongoing H5N1 outbreaks in adjacent Bangladesh, indicated H5N1 was the cause of poultry deaths prior to testing.
The continued spread of H5N1 was suggested by the large number of outbreaks in the fall.
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"The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation
KOLKATA, JANUARY 14:Plastic bags instead of surgical gloves, just 12 gowns for some 50 health workers, no protective masks, no goggles — and complete ignorance about what exactly needs to be done. This is the situation in the West Bengal Health department which now stares at a suspected outbreak of avian flu in parts of Birbhum. Worse, the Animal Husbandry and Resource Development Department, responsible for the health of the birds, has no clue what action is being taken by the other department. Neither department has enough supplies of protective gear like specialised gowns, masks, boots, gloves and goggles that’s mandatory for staff monitoring or investigating an outbreak.
Fifty Health department workers sent to the affected areas have been told to slip on plastic packets on their hands and fasten it with rubber bands since the department cannot provide sterile gloves. Hospitals in the affected areas do not have isolation wards or quarantine zones. Makeshift isolation wards are being opened in the Muraroi block primary health centre and Rampurhat sub-divisional hospital for possible human cases, but the staff is ill-equipped and unaware.
Sanchita Bakshi, West Bengal Director of Health Services, said: “We are doing what we can. Bengal has never seen bird flu before. And in this case, we are yet to get confirmation from the Bhopal laboratory.”
“We have limited gowns which we had given them (health workers). We are trying to arrange more. Meanwhile, they have been told to take precautions like wearing plastic packets on their hands,” said Bakshi.
She said she was not aware of what the Animal Husbandry department was doing.
Animal Husbandry Minister Anisur Rehman said: “I don’t know what the Health department is doing. We are doing our work.” He said his officers had fanned out in the area and stopped the sale and movement of chicken and chicken products.
“We have also discussed the question of sealing the border,” Rehman said.
Bakshi, meanwhile, said: “We think that the suspected cases are because of chicks brought from Bangladesh.” The state government is yet to set up a laboratory at Belgachia to test for avian flu. Last year, a meeting was held between the state and Union Health Ministry regarding the project and officials from Delhi visited Kolkata. But the laboratory has still not been opened.
Re: India sounds bird flu alert after chicken deaths
First Published: 13:36 IST(15/1/2008)
Last Updated: 13:39 IST(15/1/2008)
Red alert in Orissa over bird flu in West Bengal
The coastal state of Orissa has woken up to the scare of bird flu in the state after thousands of poultry died in neighbouring West Bengal. The state on Tuesday alerted veterinary officials to take precautionary measures against a possible outbreak of the avian fever.
At least 10,000 poultry in a West Bengal village died over the past 10 days but authorities are yet to confirm if the deaths were due to the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. The birds died in Margram village of Birbhum district, about 200 km from West Bengal capital Kolkata.
"We have alerted collectors in all the 30 districts of the state and asked them to remain on high alert for a possible outbreak," state health secretary Chinmay Basu told IANS.
"We do not have any specific report of bird flu in the state but are taking measures to meet any eventuality," State Animal Husbandry Minister Golak Nayak told IANS.
He added that wildlife officials of Chilika Lake, Bhitarkanika National Park and Nandankanan Geological Park have also been alerted as millions of migratory birds thronged the water bodies this winter.
There was a mass culling of poultry in Maharashtra in February 2006 after cases of bird flu were detected among chickens there.
The World Health Organisation later declared India bird flu-free.
Suri (WB), Jan 15: The Birbhum district administration on Tuesday dispatched 50 special teams to help people dispose of dead chickens in Rampurhat sub-division where bird flu alert has been sounded.
An emergency meeting of all the Block Development Officers (BDO) of Rampurhat sub-division has also been called today to discuss the issue, official sources said.
The Central government is yet to declare the death of the chickens as an "outbreak" and is waiting for a report from a laboratory in Bhopal where samples have been referred.
Unofficial reports said at least 20,000 chickens have died so far.
The health department of the state government has also formed 12 teams, each comprising a doctor and other health workers, to start rapid culling of the birds in the case an outbreak is confirmed, District Magistrate Tapan Shome said.
The Assistant Director of the Animal Husbandry Department at the Centre, A B Negi, today visited Rampurhat sub-division of the district. An isolation ward had been opened in the Rampurhat District Hospital to treat any possible cases of human bird flu.
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"The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation
BIRD FLU'S HERE: Over 10,000 birds have died in the past 10 days in Birbhum and S Dinajpur districts.
New Delhi: Preliminary tests on samples of dead birds from Birbhum and South Dinajpur districts of West Bengal have confirmed bird flu.
Reports quoting an Agriculture Ministry official said that an outbreak could be declared once a confirmation is received from the Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal.
“We have received samples from two districts of West Bengal,” confirmed High Security Animal Disease Laboratory’s Joint Director, S C Dubey.
“Scientists are handling the samples. As soon as we get the results they will be made available through the Government of India,” he said.
Central teams have already been dispatched to the affected areas and as a precautionary measure, trade in poultry in Birbhum and South Dinajpur districts has been restricted. There's an alert in the entire state and villages in these districts have been quarantined.
Close to 10,000 chickens died in the last 10 days at Margram in Birbhum. Reports say that over 15,000 birds have perished since December 29 but apparently, the government took few measures at the time.
The government confirmed on Tuesday that the latest outbreak of bird flu in poultry in West Bengal was of the virulent H5N1 strain.
"The strain is deadly enough to kill the birds," central Health Secretary Naresh Dayal told Reuters by phone from New Delhi. "Our teams are already there, now people will be monitored for flu-like symptoms and there will be surveillance."
More than 18,000 chickens and other poultry have died in and around Margram village in West Bengal over the last couple of weeks, officials have said.
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"The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation
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India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 13 - Jan 20
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Published on Tue, Jan 15, 2008 at 10:59, Updated at Tue, Jan 15, 2008 in 
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