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  • #46
    Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

    Chicken feast in India despite bird flu disaster warning

    2 hours ago
    MARGRAM, India (AFP) ? Villagers in eastern India were buying up cheap chicken on Tuesday despite authorities warning of an impending bird flu disaster and probing whether the country may have its first cases of human infection.
    West Bengal state's animal resources minister Anisur Rahaman said officials were "determined to cull all poultry in the districts in three or four days, otherwise the state will face a disaster".
    Eight districts have been hit by the virus -- more than 100,000 bird deaths have been reported -- with teams racing to cull two million chickens and ducks.
    Health officials in New Delhi said they were analysing blood samples from close to 800 people from the affected areas who have complained of fever.
    If any of the tests are positive, it would be the first case of human infection in India, home to 1.1 billion people.
    The latest outbreak, which began in the village of Margram, is the third and worst to hit India since 2006.
    Federal Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said that so far no human infections had been confirmed, but attacked the state administration for its handling of the situation.
    "There was a delay of nearly a week for notices to be sent to us but now things have been put on track... it could have been handled better," Ramadoss told reporters in New Delhi.
    On the ground, culling teams have been facing an uphill battle, with villagers smuggling birds out of affected areas and selling them in open markets.
    Thirty-year-old Sheikh Ali, a vendor in Birbhum's Gharisa market, 50 kilometres (31 miles) from Margram, said the sale of poultry had doubled in the past week. "The prices of chicken have come down from 60 rupees (1.50 dollars) to 20 rupees per kilogramme (2.2 pounds).
    "Poor villagers are feasting on chicken. At normal times, they cannot afford to buy as prices are so high. Now they are enjoying the meat," Ali said.
    Another villager in the affected area, Mohammed Mohsin, said: "Earlier, it was a luxury to have chicken even once in a month in our family... (Now) I am eating chicken daily at lunch and dinner."
    The drop in poultry prices was also hailed by vendors.
    "Bird flu has opened an opportunity to earn some extra money for small traders like me," said Amit Chatterjee, unloading baskets of live birds from a truck at Gharisa.
    And small trader Mukhtar Ali, 30, said could not remember a time when business was so good. "Now I am selling 40 to 50 kilogrammes of poultry daily and the stock is sold out in the first hour of the day," he told AFP, barely looking up from his chopping board as he packed up a fresh chicken for one of his many customers. "The customers are mostly poor people."
    In one affected area, police seized two trucks of smuggled poultry early Tuesday but culling teams were yet to arrive at the spot, an AFP correspondent said.
    "Poultry owners are smuggling their birds out at night and transporting it to different places for fear of culling," said Shubhendu Mahato, a security guard at Arambagh Hatchery, one of the biggest in West Bengal.
    Neighbouring Nepal, which has banned poultry imports from India since 2006, said its border posts were on high alert.
    Meanwhile, Bangladesh, which also borders West Bengal, was battling its own serious outbreak -- with experts warning the situation was far worse than the government was letting on.
    "Bird flu is now everywhere. Every day we have reports of birds dying in farms," said leading poultry expert and treasurer of the Bangladesh Poultry Association M.M Khan.
    "Things are now very, very serious and public health is under danger. The government is trying to suppress the whole scenario," Khan said, adding that farmers were also holding back from reporting cases.
    People typically catch bird flu by coming into direct contact with infected poultry, but experts fear a pandemic if the H5N1 mutates into a form easily transmissible between humans.
    Migratory birds have been largely blamed for the global spread of the disease, which has killed more than 200 people worldwide since 2003.

    Comment


    • #47
      Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

      Culling operations should be speeded up in WB: Anbumani
      Last Updated: 13:28 IST(22/1/2008)
      <!--Start of animated box--><TABLE class=animatedbox cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="47%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left width="100%" colSpan=3><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left></TD><TD class=dropshadowtop vAlign=top align=middle width="100%"></TD><TD vAlign=top align=left></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=dropshadowleft vAlign=top align=left> </TD><TD width="100%"></TD><TD class=dropshadowright vAlign=top align=right> </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left colSpan=3><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left></TD><TD class=dropshadowbottom vAlign=top align=left width="100%"></TD><TD vAlign=top align=left colSpan=2></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!--End of top module--><!--Start of the story-->
      As bird flu continued to ravage poultry in West Bengal, the Centre on Tuesday indicated that a delay in action on part of the state government contributed to the rapid spread of the disease and said the pace of culling operations should be quickened.
      "Initially there was a delay of nearly a week's time for notices to be sent to us but now things have been put on track," Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
      Asked whether the delay could have contributed to the disease spreading so fast, he said, "it could have been handled better".
      "When it happened in Maharashtra and Manipur, within a week we could take care of these things and it was mopped up and the screening was done and culling was done," the Minister said adding the pace of all operations like culling needs to be quickened.
      Ramadoss said the Union Health Ministry was coordinating with the state government and he was confident that the disease would be tackled fast.
      Asked about some attacks on culling teams, he said initially there were some issues. "There was a problem of compensation for ducks. The compensation was to be increased and that is now being taken care of."
      Also there was no awareness initially, he added.
      On steps being taken by the Health Ministry, he said Rapid Response Teams have been sent, preventive Tamiflu tablets have been handed out to the most vulnerable sections and other steps are being taken. http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryP...WB%3a+Anbumani
      CSI:WORLD http://swineflumagazine.blogspot.com/

      treyfish2004@yahoo.com

      Comment


      • #48
        Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

        Hat - tip Ironorehopper

        Reservoirs persist - good hygiene is a must -


        Prevalence and diversity of avian influenza viruses in environmental reservoirs

        <nobr>Andrew S. Lang<sup>1</sup></nobr>, <nobr>Anke Kelly<sup>2</sup></nobr> and <nobr>Jonathan A. Runstadler<sup>2</sup></nobr>
        <sup>1</sup> Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St John's, NL A1B 3X9, Canada
        <sup>2</sup> Institute of Arctic Biology, PO Box 757000, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA

        Correspondence<sup> </sup>
        Jonathan A. Runstadler<sup> </sup>
        j.runstadler@uaf.edu<script type="text/javascript"><!-- var u = "j.runstadler", d = "uaf.edu"; document.getElementById("em0").innerHTML = '<a href="mailto:' + u + '@' + d + '">' + u + '@' + d + '<\/a>'//--></script>
        <!-- ABS --> Little is known about the ecology and evolution of avian influenza<sup> </sup>in the natural environment, despite how these affect the potential<sup> </sup>for transmission. Most work has focused on characterizing viruses<sup> </sup>isolated from hosts such as waterfowl, and there have also been<sup> </sup>several instances of isolation and detection from abiotic sources<sup> </sup>such as water and ice. We used RT-PCR to amplify and characterize<sup> </sup>the influenza virus sequences present in sediments of ponds<sup> </sup>that are used heavily by waterfowl. The detection rate of influenza<sup> </sup>virus was high (>50 %). Characterization of the viruses present<sup> </sup>by sequencing part of the haemagglutinin (HA) gene showed that<sup> </sup>there is a diverse collection of viruses in these sediments.<sup> </sup>We sequenced 117 partial HA gene clones from 11 samples and<sup> </sup>detected four different HA subtypes (H3, H8, H11 and H12), with<sup> </sup>approximately 65 % of clone sequences being unique. This culture-independent<sup> </sup>approach was also able to detect a virus subtype that was not<sup> </sup>found by sampling of birds in the same geographical region in<sup> </sup>the same year. Viruses were detected readily in the winter when<sup> </sup>the ponds were frozen, indicating that these sediments could<sup> </sup>be a year-to-year reservoir of viruses to infect birds using<sup> </sup>the ponds, although we have not shown that these viruses are<sup> </sup>viable. We demonstrate that this approach is a feasible and<sup> </sup>valuable way to assess the prevalence and diversity of viruses<sup> </sup>present in the environment, and can be a valuable complement<sup> </sup>to more difficult viral culturing in attempting to understand<sup> </sup>the ecology of influenza viruses.<sup> </sup>
        <!-- null --> The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession numbers for the sequences reported<sup> </sup>in this paper are EU086918?EU087180.<sup> </sup>
        <!-- null --> A supplementary figure showing sampling locations for this study<sup> </sup>and supplementary tables identifying viruses included in the<sup> </sup>H3 and H11 phylogenetic analyses are available with the online<sup> </sup>version of this paper.




        Comment


        • #49
          Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

          West Bengal appeals over bird flu
          <table><tbody><tr><td width="5"></td><td class="fact"><!--So--><!--Eo--><!--So-->
          <!--Eo--><!--Smiiib--></td></tr></tbody></table>Officials in the Indian state of West Bengal have appealed to other states to help cull up to two million chickens suspected of having bird flu.
          Their appeal comes as health experts in the state warn that the disease threatens to spiral out of control.
          A team of officials from Delhi has told the state government that the pace of the culling operation is too slow. Some birds were found to be carrying the deadly H5N1 virus which can cause avian influenza in humans, officials say.

          Poultry ban
          "There is every chance of the virus spiralling out of hand if it's too late," Sanchita Bakshi, the state health services director told the Reuters news agency.

          Officials say that the disease now affects seven of the 19 districts in West Bengal, with a combined population of 24 million people.

          Meanwhile Nepal has banned poultry imports from India and there are fears about an outbreak of bird flu in neighbouring Bangladesh.

          West Bengal has sealed a stretch of its border with Bangladesh, which has been fighting to contain the spread of bird flu since March last year.

          State Health Minister Surya Kanta Mishra appealed to eight other Indian states - including Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu - for assistance in the culling operation after meeting with a team of health officials from Delhi on Tuesday.

          The BBC's Amitabha Bhattasali in Calcutta says that the team from Delhi is concerned that the cull in West Bengal is too slow and that so far only about 160,000 birds have been disposed of.

          Our correspondent say the authorities face a major logistical challenge, because many of the chickens in infected areas roam around in the open and in many cases have to be chased and caught before being killed.

          Basic hygiene

          However, there was some good news for the state government on Tuesday, with test results on five poultry workers suspected of contracting the human form of the disease proving negative.

          Poultry business leaders in southern state of Tamil Nadu have also played down earlier concerns that the bird flu outbreak in West Bengal could undermine the multi-billion-dollar export market of chicken to Middle Eastern countries.

          Correspondents say that efforts to contain the disease in West Bengal are being hampered because farmers insist that their poultry is healthy, and refuse to hand them over for culling.

          The problem is made worse because many poor and illiterate farmers are sometimes misinformed about basic hygiene.

          Dead birds are reported to have been dumped in village wells and ponds by people not aware of the risks from the H5N1 virus.

          Some villagers are also reported to have refused to give up their chickens, claiming government compensation was inadequate.

          The state government says that it wants to combat this by getting health workers to intensify an awareness drive.

          India faced a major outbreak of bird flu in the north-eastern state of Manipur last year which was contained. So too were previous outbreaks in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

          Story from BBC NEWS:
          BBC, News, BBC News, news online, world, uk, international, foreign, british, online, service



          Published: 2008/01/22 12:23:27 GMT
          Last edited by Niko; January 22, 2008, 01:35 PM. Reason: format

          Comment


          • #50
            Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

            <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="85%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR bgColor=#eff0ef><TD vAlign=top align=right colSpan=2>CULLING STEPPED UP; OVER 2.4 LAKH BIRDS CULLED IN WEST BENGAL; 258 RAPID RESPONSE TEAMS DEPLOYED <HR></TD></TR><TR bgColor=#eff0ef><TD style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" vAlign=top width=103 height=30></TD><TD style="TEXT-ALIGN: right" vAlign=top width=347 height=30>18:28 IST </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE width="90%" align=center><TBODY><TR><TD class=rel style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Bird Flu Update

            As per latest information received, a total mortality of 1,13,796 poultry birds has been reported from Birbhum, Dakshin Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Nadia, South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, Burdwan & Bankura districts of West Bengal.

            The HSADL, Bhopal has confirmed a positive result for Avian Influenza (H5) in respect of samples from Krishnanagar-I and Haringhata blocks of Nadia district, Ktugram, Jamuria and Galsi blocks of Burdwan district and Nalhati-I and Bolpur-Sriniketan blocks of Birbhum district of West Bengal on the basis of rapid tests.

            A number of samples from Howrah, South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, Hooghly, Kolkata, West Midnapur tested at the HSADL, Bhopal turned a negative result.

            On 21.01.2008, a total of 258 Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) were deployed for culling, mopping up and surveillance operations. The maximum number of teams are working in Birbhum (79), followed by Burdwan (60), Murshidabad (51), Dakshin Dinajpur and Nadia (34 each).

            The RRTs have, up to 21st January 2008, culled a total of 2.42 lakh poultry, destroyed 88,252 eggs and about 3000 kgs of feed material.

            The joint teams of the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries and the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare visiting Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa, Assam and Meghalaya are continuing their work in these states. A team has also moved to Tripura and Mizoram today.

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

            Comment


            • #51
              Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

              Originally posted by niman View Post
              <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="85%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR bgColor=#eff0ef><TD vAlign=top align=right colSpan=2>CULLING STEPPED UP; OVER 2.4 LAKH BIRDS CULLED IN WEST BENGAL; 258 RAPID RESPONSE TEAMS DEPLOYED <HR></TD></TR><TR bgColor=#eff0ef><TD style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" vAlign=top width=103 height=30></TD><TD style="TEXT-ALIGN: right" vAlign=top width=347 height=30>18:28 IST </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE width="90%" align=center><TBODY><TR><TD class=rel style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Bird Flu Update

              As per latest information received, a total mortality of 1,13,796 poultry birds has been reported from Birbhum, Dakshin Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Nadia, South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, Burdwan & Bankura districts of West Bengal.

              The HSADL, Bhopal has confirmed a positive result for Avian Influenza (H5) in respect of samples from Krishnanagar-I and Haringhata blocks of Nadia district, Ktugram, Jamuria and Galsi blocks of Burdwan district and Nalhati-I and Bolpur-Sriniketan blocks of Birbhum district of West Bengal on the basis of rapid tests.

              A number of samples from Howrah, South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, Hooghly, Kolkata, West Midnapur tested at the HSADL, Bhopal turned a negative result.

              On 21.01.2008, a total of 258 Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) were deployed for culling, mopping up and surveillance operations. The maximum number of teams are working in Birbhum (79), followed by Burdwan (60), Murshidabad (51), Dakshin Dinajpur and Nadia (34 each).

              The RRTs have, up to 21st January 2008, culled a total of 2.42 lakh poultry, destroyed 88,252 eggs and about 3000 kgs of feed material.

              The joint teams of the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries and the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare visiting Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa, Assam and Meghalaya are continuing their work in these states. A team has also moved to Tripura and Mizoram today.

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

              http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=34825
              Note the lack of specifics on the "negative" districts. India continues to control the spread of confirmed H5N1 cases by simply not collecting or testing sampls from "negative" districts.

              Comment


              • #52
                Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

                Commentary

                Comment


                • #53
                  Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

                  No avian influenza in Kerala

                  Tuesday, January 22, 2008 : 1730 Hrs Kozhikode (PTI): Animal Husbandry department on Tuesday ruled out bird flu in Kerala after tests of 57 dead chicken here revealed that they died due to 'ranikhet disease' and not because of avian influenza.
                  About 57 chicken were reported dead at different houses in a tribal colony at Nadapuram since January 14 following which a team of veterinary doctors conducted tests, District Animal Husbandry Officer Anil Kumar said.
                  "As per the tests conducted by the team, the deaths were caused by ranikhet disease and there were no symptoms of bird flu in the region," he told PTI.
                  As a precautionary measure, samples of migratory birds at Kadalundi had also been taken for examination and blood samples have been sent to the High Security Animal Husbandry Laboratory in Bhopal, he said.
                  Dr N Mohanan, who was among the veterinary team, said random checks were also conducted in adjoining areas, including Vatakara.
                  "We have diagnosed the dead birds and there is no need to panic as all of them had died only due to ranikhet disease," he said.
                  The test results from Bhopal would be communicated to the Centre in a day or two, he added. http://www.hinduonnet.com/holnus/004200801221716.htm<!-- story ends -->
                  CSI:WORLD http://swineflumagazine.blogspot.com/

                  treyfish2004@yahoo.com

                  Comment


                  • #54
                    Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

                    Bird flu outbreak
                    VAH to take up awareness drive
                    By Our Staff Reporter
                    IMPHAL, Jan 21: Taking serious note of the outbreak of Bird flu in two districts of West Bengal and its rapid spread to other parts of that State, an emergency meeting of the State Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Department held here today at the official level has decided to launch awareness campaign on Bird flu all over the State in phase wise manner with effect from January 23.
                    Disclosing this to The Sangai Express, an official source said that the awareness campaign on Bird flu is to be launched in phase- wise manner with effect from January 23 in all the districts to prevent any possibility of its spread to Manipur.
                    The official level meeting of the Department held today was chaired by Joint Director (Administration) of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Th Jivan.
                    As part of the proposed campaign, a sensitization programme on Bird flu would be conducted at Mao on January 24, the official said, adding that a team of officials of the Department has already been stationed at the border town of Moreh to monitor import of poultry products from Myanmar.
                    During the course of the surveillance being conducted by the Department, no report of unnatural death of domestic fowls like hen or ducks have been received for far from anywhere, the official informed, adding that Dr Ng Ibotombi of the Department would be leaving for Shillong on January 28 at the request of Meghalaya Government for imparting training on Bird Flu there.
                    On the other hand, officials of the Forest and Environment Department have also stepped up their surveillance of migratory birds coming to Manipur in search of food and shelter during winter season even if there have been no report on unnatural death of any migratory birds.

                    CSI:WORLD http://swineflumagazine.blogspot.com/

                    treyfish2004@yahoo.com

                    Comment


                    • #55
                      Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

                      <table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" width="100&#37;"><tbody><tr><td colspan="1" height="0" valign="bottom">Last updated : TUESDAY 22 JANUARY 2008</td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" height="7"></td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="#ffffff" height="21" width="1%"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="1">
                      </td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="#ffffff" height="27" width="1%">
                      </td></tr><tr><td colspan="1">‘Checkgates allowing entry of poultry from West Bengal’
                      By our Staff Reporter
                      GUWAHATI, Jan 21: Vigil along the Asom-West Bengal border has been intensified following the seizure of vans loaded with chicken from the neighbouring State at Bijoy Nagar and Gouripur on January 19 night despite the imposition of a blanket ban on the movement of poultry and poultry products across the international and inter-State borders.
                      This was stated by Dr AK Kataki, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Director, while talking to The Sentinel here today. State Veterinary Minister Khorsingh Ingti convened a meeting of the officials of the departments concerned at Dispur today to review the prevailing situation arising out of the outbreak of avian influenza in West Bengal.
                      The threat of the deadly bird flu virus has been knocking the door of Asom as reports of unusual death of chicken have been pouring in from several places in North Bengal bordering Asom. However, Kataki said his department has kept strict vigil on the situation and no reports of unusual kind have yet been received from any part of the State.
                      Meanwhile, a 34-member team of trained personnel, comprising veterinary doctors and para-veterinary staff, rushed to West Bengal yesterday to assist in culling operation in the neighbouring State. According to the State Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department sources, Asom is fully prepared to face any eventuality.
                      Altogether 432 units of Rapid Response Team (RRT), each headed by an assistant veterinary doctor and well trained to handle bird flu, have been formed by the department to tackle possible outbreak of the disease. According to the sources, the State has also about 1,500 Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) kits in stock for the use of RRT. Though the stock of PPE is considered to be sufficient to face the outbreak of Avian flu in the initial stage, the department is also maintaining close contact with the manufacturing companies for supply of more kits, if required, added the sources.
                      In respect of highest poultry population, the undivided Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon districts are considered to be more prone to the bird flu virus. According to sources, samples have also been collected from the seized poultry in Bijoy Nagar and Gouripur for test.
                      Meanwhile, a source from Dhubri said the drivers of the two vans seized by Gouripur police admitted that they had crossed the Asom-West Bengal border by paying Rs 300 at the border checkgate. According to sources, a section of West Bengal poultry traders is desperate to sell the unsold poultry in Asom. http://www.sentinelassam.com/sentine...ain%20news.htm

                      </td></tr><tr><td colspan="1"> </td></tr></tbody></table>
                      Last edited by Niko; January 22, 2008, 01:41 PM. Reason: remove unrelated picture
                      CSI:WORLD http://swineflumagazine.blogspot.com/

                      treyfish2004@yahoo.com

                      Comment


                      • #56
                        Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

                        Bird flu: West Bengal govt faces flak


                        NDTV Correspondent

                        Tuesday, January 22, 2008 (Chennai)

                        The West Bengal government is being criticized for its ineffective handling of the bird flu epidemic.

                        Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar slammed the CPM government on Monday for not reporting the bird flu epidemic early on, suggesting the fact that the delayed action could have contributed to the rapid spread of bird flu even as the Center allayed fears about the disease spreading to humans in the state.

                        The state administration has set a daily target of culling three lakh birds over the next seven days in the seven affected districts of Birbhum, Murshidabad, South Dinajpur, Burdwan, Nadia, Bankura and Malda.

                        Earlier in the day, the epidemic was found to be dangerously closing in on the state capital of Kolkata.

                        Chickens also died in two other districts, South 24 Parganas and North 24 Paragnas, which are close to the state capital, raising fears that the disease could now enter there but authorities have not yet confirmed the virus yet.

                        With the West Bengal government struggling to meet culling deadlines, the situation is becoming even graver. Tuesday saw the speed of culling coming in for further criticism.

                        So far, only 1.6 lakh birds have been culled and 20 lakh more remain to be culled.

                        On Sunday, January 13, the deadly virus was detected in Birbhum district and two days later on the January 15, two other districts, South Dinajpur and Murshidabad confirmed the virus.

                        By Friday, January 18, Bardhman and Nadia joined the list and then on Sunday, January 20, it was Bankura. Monday saw Malda reporting the spread of bird flu in the district.

                        No human case

                        Fears of the bird flu spreading to humans in West Bengal have now been laid to rest with the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) finding three human samples negative.

                        ''It is a general thing that if anybody has any fever or anything like that the blood will be tested and till date we have not got any confirmation for that (bird flu),'' Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss told reporters on the sidelines of a function in the capital.

                        The minister said that the screening is conducted between 0-10 km of the affected area and all people who live in the villages are randomly tested by health ministry teams.

                        ''Till date we have not had any confirmation of that and there is no reason to be concerned of any cases of human cases of bird flu,'' he said adding ''we are all vigilant''.

                        NICD, which as a part of the Union Health Ministry is responsible for carrying out the screening on Monday said that all human samples taken from West Bengal have tested negative.

                        ''In fact the samples which were taken from South Dinajpur and Birbhum did not have any clinical symptoms of the disease and did not even fit the definition of suspect cases,'' NICD Director Shivlal said.

                        ''Three samples which had been sent to NICD, New Delhi, had tested negative on Sunday and NICD, Kolkata, which tested five samples has confirmed on Monday that all of them are negative for the presence of Avian Influenza,'' he said.

                        The samples had been randomly selected from people who had handled poultry, the villagers in the affected areas and the culling teams. (With PTI inputs)

                        Comment


                        • #57
                          Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

                          Bihar bans poultry import from West Bengal
                          Patna, Jan 22: The Bihar government has banned the import of poultry from West Bengal following the spread of bird flu in the neighbouring state, officials said Tuesday.
                          Official sources in the state animal husbandry department said the government has put a blanket ban on the import of chicken and eggs from West Bengal.

                          "It is bound to affect their business but we cannot risk the spread of bird flu virus in Bihar," an official said.

                          Bihar's Kishanganj and Katihar districts share a border with West Bengal's Birbhum and South Dinajpur, which have been affected by bird flu.

                          Official sources said all the borders have been sealed to check the entry of poultry items into Bihar.

                          Kishanganj District Magistrate Sridhar Cherevellu said the administration has been alerted and precautionary measures were being taken.

                          "Measures have been initiated for decontamination of both the government and private poultry farms," said Anil Kumar, assistant manager of the Bhagalpur regional poultry farm.

                          However, medical consultant A.K. Sinha said there was a risk of avian influenza spreading in Bihar because of migratory birds, which were being hunted and sold by some people.

                          Animal husbandry officials in Patna have given a clean chit to the poultry sector after conducting tests on randomly selected chickens.

                          Civil surgeon Shabbir Ahmad said Kishanganj Medical College and Hospital has been put on alert.

                          "The hospital is fully prepared to provide necessary treatment if any symptoms are found in human beings," he said
                          . http://www.bihartimes.com/news08/Jan/22jan3.html
                          CSI:WORLD http://swineflumagazine.blogspot.com/

                          treyfish2004@yahoo.com

                          Comment


                          • #58
                            Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

                            State steps up vigil to combat bird flu
                            </B>
                            By Our Correspondent
                            GUWAHATI, Jan 21 ? As the menace of bird flu cruising closer towards the Assam ?West Bengal bordering areas such as Cooch Behar in neighbouring West Bengal, the State has been forced to intensify its vigil further after at the seizure of at least two poultry-carrying trucks from West Bengal on Sunday evening. State Veterinary Minister Khorsing Ingti reviewed the situation with department officials at Dispur today, with the other NE states including Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur keeping a close contact with Assam Government.

                            Blaming the civil administration for the illegal entry of the trucks carrying the poultry from West Bengal, sources told The Assam Tribune that the administration has been asked to take necessary steps against the culprits so that the State does not become a dumping ground for the flu-affected poultry.

                            Two Guwahati-bound trucks from West Bengal carrying chicken were held at Chaygaon and Gauripur yesterday, leading to speculations that more such unmonitored poultry-carrying trucks were sneaking into the State.

                            State Veterinary department sources said that the Chaygaon consignment was meant for the Army, though the Army sources denied it, adding that they had stopped import of poultry from West Bengal more than four days back.

                            ?We have stopped procuring poultry from outside sources since the last four days and so there is no question of the said poultry consignment being brought for us,? commandant of a Indian Army?s supply depot clarified. The official is responsible for all the supply meant for the Indian Army personnel in the North East.

                            The Gauripur consignment was for local traders, veterinary sources added.

                            Samples of the poultry, which were seized last evening both in Gauripur and Chaygaon areas have been sent back and their samples had been collected.

                            ?The samples of the poultry seized have been collected and they are under examination. Later, they would be send to Bhopal for final examination to find whether there were any symptoms of bird flu present in them,? the sources divulged.

                            A number of districts in West Bengal have reported the outbreak of bird flu and lakhs of chickens were being culled in the neighbouring state, with Assam also rushing in culling teams to assist the hard-pressed veterinary department there.

                            ?A team of 30 members including veterinary and para veterinary doctors left for West Bengal yesterday,? the sources informed.

                            State Animal Husbandry and Veterinary director AK Kakoty while talking to this correspondent confirmed that the district administrations have been directed to step up the vigil so that nothing of this kind takes place.

                            Assam government has claimed that it has taken all possible efforts to prevent the outbreak of the disease and has asked concerned authorities to stock adequate preventive medicines.

                            ?We have already taken all necessary precautionary measures as per the action plan of the Government of Indian. No unusual report have come up from any part of the State

                            The veterinary department had collected blood and stool samples from various vulnerable pockets of the bordering districts and sent to Kolkata and Bhopal laboratories. Though there was no immediate report of outbreak of the dreaded disease in the chickens, the demand for its meat has come down drastically in the State. http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/...d=jan2208/at03
                            CSI:WORLD http://swineflumagazine.blogspot.com/

                            treyfish2004@yahoo.com

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                            • #59
                              Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

                              Bird flu spreads in West Bengal, but humans spared

                              West Bengal braced to cull a whopping 2.1 million poultry birds as the bird flu spread further in the state. But officials denied reports of human infection, providing some sigh of relief.
                              Kolkata/New Delhi, India, 2008-01-22 20:45:03 (IndiaPRwire.com)
                              West Bengal braced to cull a whopping 2.1 million poultry birds as the bird flu spread further in the state. But officials denied reports of human infection, providing some sigh of relief.
                              Health workers from three other states are to help the besieged West Bengal administration in the unprecedented culling, at the rate of about 300,000 birds a day.
                              'We have culled around 256,000 birds till Tuesday but we have to slaughter a total of 2.1 million. So 120-150 technical people from other states will join the operation,' central Animal Husbandry Secretary Pradeep Kumar announced in Kolkata.
                              'Our concern is to find out how the disease spread from the initial outbreak in two districts, Birbhum and South Dinajpur,' Kumar told reporters.
                              The operation will be ramped up in the seven affected districts of West Bengal with induction of personnel from Tripura, Assam and Maharashtra, officials said.
                              West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, who discussed the crisis with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on telephone Tuesday, said the situation was under control in Burdwan and Bankura.
                              He, however, said that Birbhum, Murshidabad and Nadia districts were still a cause for concern.
                              West Bengal Health Minister Surya Kanta Misra said all five samples of humans sent to the laboratories in Pune showed no sign of an avian influenza infection.
                              'We had sent five samples and all are negative. There is no cause for panic yet among humans,' he said. It was the only silver lining in a crisis situation that West Bengal has never faced until now.
                              The H5N1 virus causes a type of influenza in birds that is highly contagious and can be deadly. It does not usually infect people unless they come in close contact with infected birds or contaminated surfaces.
                              The National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED) in Kolkata also denied reports that the virus had spread to humans.
                              Four samples tested in New Delhi also proved negative.
                              'Four (human) samples tested in our head office have been found negative to avian influenza,' National Institute of Communicable Disease (NICD) chief Shiv Lal told IANS in New Delhi.
                              'People should not get worried unnecessarily. All human samples related to bird flu have been found negative and we don't have any other sample right now,' said Lal. 'We have given the report to the central and the state government.'
                              In New Delhi, speaking on the sidelines of an official function, Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said: 'Random screening is being carried out in several bird flu affected districts of West Bengal but no human case has been confirmed.'
                              Despite best attempts, there was no halting the spread of the bird flu in West Bengal.
                              The High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL), Bhopal, confirmed a positive result for bird flu in respect of samples from Krishnanagar-I and Haringhata blocks of Nadia district, Ktugram, Jamuria and Galsi blocks of Burdwan district and Nalhati-I and Bolpur-Sriniketan blocks of Birbhum.
                              However, a number of samples from Howrah, South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, Hooghly, Kolkata, West Midnapur tested negative.
                              The bird flu was Tuesday confirmed in Chanchol (Block I) of Malda district, about 375 km from Kolkata, taking the number of districts in the state in the grip of the disease to seven.
                              The others are Birbhum, South Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Nadia, Burdwan and Bankura.
                              More than a million poultry deaths have been reported in West Bengal in the past three weeks.
                              Farmers were being handed over tokens at culling sites and asked to contact their panchayat or village block offices for compensation money. The payment is Rs.40 for a country chicken, Rs.30 for a broiler and Rs.10 for a chick.
                              Several states have banned the import of chicken from West Bengal. The central government has asked the state to seal its borders with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.
                              - Indo Asian News Service

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                              • #60
                                Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+

                                <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" bgColor=#ffffff border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=bbold14>Bird flu spreads to further areas of Bengal<!--/Fullheadline--></TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2 height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2>Tuesday, 22 January , 2008, 21:29 </TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2 height=8></TD></TR><TR class=ash12normal><TD bgColor=#ffffff colSpan=2><!-- google_ad_section_start=sify_article -->New Delhi: Bird flu spread to further areas of West Bengal on Tuesday as the Centre increased the target of number of poultry to be culled to nearly 15 lakh.
                                <TABLE borderColor=#000000 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width=236 align=right bgColor=white border=1><TBODY><TR><TD>
                                Also read
                                </TD></TR><TR><TD>Keep your chicken bird flu free!
                                Some quick facts about bird flu
                                Full coverage
                                </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Samples from two more blocks of Nadia district, three blocks of Burdwan district and two blocks of Birbhum district were confirmed to be positive for bird flu.
                                Briefing the media, Animal Husbandry Commissioner S K Bandopadhyay, however, said the total number of districts where the bird flu virus had spread remain seven, which include Birbhum, South Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Nadia, Burdwan, Malda and Bankura.
                                "I think as on today, 12-15 lakh birds need to be culled," he said replying to a query on latest estimates. The Rapid Response Teams had culled 2.42 lakh poultry till January 21, Bandopadhyay said. The poultry deaths have reached to 1,13,796 in the state. "It is being controlled. It is not under control," he said while replying to a query whether the bird flu situation was under control. <!-- google_ad_section_end=sify_article -->
                                </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

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