Is Kolkata ready to handle bird flu?
24 Jan 2008, 0257 hrs IST,TNN
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KOLKATA: After striking terror across nine districts in Bengal, the deadly avian flu virus is almost in Kolkata. It has reached up to Hooghly's Balagarh, which has made the authorities sit up. The danger signals are loud and clear and a red alert has been sounded.
But the question that's worrying Kolkatans is whether the city is prepared to fight an outbreak? Though the government and civic authorities are trying to cope with the situation in the wake of an outbreak, the lack of experience and proper equipment could hit them badly, say health officials.
Though the city has just one poultry farm, which happens to be the largest in the state, neither the health department nor Kolkata Municipal Corporation has ruled out the possibility of an outbreak. Also, it's doubtful whether the animal husbandry department will be able to undertake the culling operation in the city with its limited resources.
Civic health officials admit that there is a lack of coordination between KMC and the animal husbandry department, with the civic bosses monitoring the situation without any guideline from the department.
The vigil hasn't been foolproof yet. Poultry in the vulnerable areas within the city limits like unhygienic Tangra, Topsia, Garden Reach, Anandapur and Mukundapur are yet to be screened. While markets and its adjoining areas are being put under the scanner, thousands of roadside shops have so far escaped scrutiny. Civic bosses are yet to take stock of the government-owned poultry farm at Tollygunge in South Kolkata.
Experts warn that even one infected bird is enough to spread the deadly virus in the city. ''Unless the sellers take precautions themselves, it's virtually impossible to keep the virus out. They will have to maintain cleanliness, be alert about the quality of chicken they are selling and spray disinfectants regularly. Even common liquid soap or phenyl is enough to kill H5NI,'' said Barun Roy, animal diseases expert.
Roy, however, added the city doesn't face an imminent threat because the supply line from the affected areas has been cut-off and leaflets outlining the 'dos' and 'don'ts' are being distributed by KMC, health and the animal husbandry department.
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"In the beginning of change, the patriot is a scarce man (or woman), and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for it then costs nothing to be a patriot."- Mark Twain Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it. -Thomas Paine
Watchful Waiting Continues for Fever Patients in West Bengal Recombinomics Commentary 01:41
January 24, 2008
Quote:
According to latest reports several thousand people have been running fever in Birbhum district where the disease started from. While Health Minister Dr Suryakanta Mishra said the virus was under control his officers could not explain how so many people fell ill simultaneously from a single district. One officer however informed many of those suffering from fever handled their backyard poultry before the outbreak was officially reported. "It is however impossible to conduct checks on all of them.
The above comments on the more than 2000 fever cases in Birbhum are cause for concern. Media reports indicate poultry began dying in mid-December and villagers were eaten the dead birds for several weeks before H5N1 was acknowledged.
However, much information on these patients is lacking. Media reports indicate that most patients were not admitted. Two children have been described, and it remains unclear if they were tested or treated. There has not been any mention of collection of throat swabs or treatment with Tamiflu. This watchful waiting approach remains a cause for concern,
More information on the heath of these patients and details on testing would be useful.
__________________
"In the beginning of change, the patriot is a scarce man (or woman), and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for it then costs nothing to be a patriot."- Mark Twain Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it. -Thomas Paine
Authorities worry bird flu will hit major India city
24 Jan 2008 07:12:25 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Bappa Majumdar
KOLKATA, India, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Authorities patrolled poultry markets in Kolkata to try to stop bird flu spreading to one of India's largest cities as fears grew the outbreak of the disease in eastern India was out of control.
Bird flu has spread to nine of West Bengal's 19 districts and there were reports of more bird deaths in another five districts in the state of 80 million people.
"The virus is most likely to spread to other areas within the infected zones and nearby districts, but we are now trying to stop it from hitting Kolkata," said Surjya Kanta Mishra, the state's health minister.
The H5N1 bird flu virus has been confirmed in two districts so far. Authorities have not confirmed H5N1 in other districts but say it is likely to be the same strain.
The World Health Organization has said it was India's most serious outbreak since the strain was first detected in the country in 2006.
Thailand said on Thursday the strain was confirmed in poultry in a northern province, while Bangladesh has been struggling to contain an outbreak that has affected more than two dozen districts. West Bengal borders Bangladesh.
The H5N1 virus has also resurfaced in Europe, while earlier this week an Indonesian man tested positive for the virus. Nearly 100 people have died of bird flu in Indonesia.
Scientists fear the strain could mutate into a form easily transmitted from person to person, leading to a pandemic that could kill millions around the globe.
Authorities found avian influenza in dead bird samples from Hooghly district, a little more than an hour's drive from the crowded West Bengal capital, Kolkata.
More than five million people live in Kolkata, a city dotted with rows of large houses, crumbling colonial buildings, glittering glass offices and congested slums.
Hundreds of health officials searched markets in the city's narrow lanes, looking for sick birds smuggled in from infected districts. Health officials were also checking birds at the biggest poultry farm in the state near Kolkata.
STRICT SURVEILLANCE
"A strict surveillance has been put in place and we are checking every single truck coming into the city," said Anisur Rahaman, the state's animal resources minister. "We are making every effort to save the city from the virus."
West Bengal is ruled by the world's longest-serving democratically elected communist government and it is facing huge criticism from the opposition and the central government for a slow response to the outbreak.
Authorities in the neighbouring state of Bihar said on Wednesday they will cull chickens along its border with West Bengal as a precaution.
Authorities on Wednesday intercepted a truck carrying 10,000 chicks in West Bengal's Birbhum district, the epicentre of the latest outbreak of bird flu in India. The truck was apparently trying to leave the state. Officials buried the chicks alive in a ditch, villagers said.
Authorities say is difficult to contain the outbreak in West Bengal because the virus has affected mostly backyard poultry, reared in the thousands by villagers all over the state.
Villagers are unwilling to part with their flocks and are hiding chickens and ducks inside homes, saying they were the only source of income. Authorities, though, are paying compensation of up to 40 rupees ($1) for each culled bird.
At least 60 percent of India's billion-plus people live in rural areas close to their livestock, raising the risks of the bird flu virus infecting people. (Editing by Alistair Scrutton and David Fogarty)
The bird flu epidemic in the Indian state of West Bengal has inched closer to the capital, Calcutta, with an outbreak reported close to the city.
Tests on dead birds from Dinhata, less than a two-hour drive from Calcutta, have tested positive for the disease.
Nine of the state's 19 districts have been already hit by the flu. Officials say more than 2m birds would be culled. The H5N1 strain of bird flu is regarded as highly pathogenic and can also cause disease and death in humans.
Health experts have warned that the outbreak could get out of control.
No cases of human infection have still been reported though a member of the culling team has been admitted to hospital with respiratory disorder and fever.
State animal husbandry minister Anisur Rehman said the government had a "long way to go" in culling the targeted two million birds.
Only a third of the target has been achieved - barely 700,000 birds have been culled in the last 10 days.
"More culling teams are needed in all the affected districts but these are things that cannot be hurried. The men in the culling teams have to be quarantined first before they can be asked to start the operations," Mr Rehman said. Pace warning
In most of the districts , the villagers were resisting culling of their backyard poultry.
"Poultry is a major source of income for the poor villagers. It is not unusual for them to resist culling. So we have to persuade them rather than force them," said Manasa Hansda, a senior official of Birbhum, one of the worst-hit districts said.
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.
Federal officials have warned that if the pace of culling does not pick up fast, the airborne virus may spread to the remaining districts and even hit Calcutta.
One of the districts most recently affected, Hooghly, is close to Calcutta and contains the state's largest chicken hatchery.
"If this spreads to Calcutta, there will be panic and chaos," animal disease expert Barun Roy said.
The municipal authorities in Calcutta are not prepared for such a situation, he said. 'Panic and chaos'
Another district recently hit by the virus, Coochbehar, is close to the border with 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.
Experts in Bangladesh have warned that the outbreak of the virus is far worse than the government is reporting.
"Bird flu is now everywhere. Every day we have reports of birds dying in farms," leading Bangladeshi poultry expert MM Khan has said.
"Things are now very serious and public health is [in] danger," he said, alleging that farmers were reluctant to report new cases.
There is little evidence that the virus can be transmitted easily between humans.
Most human victims have contracted the disease through close contact with affected birds.
Published: Thursday, 24 January, 2008, 07:35 AM Doha Time
MUMBAI: India, fighting a bird flu outbreak in poultry that threatens to get out of control, will build several new laboratories in a bid to combat delays in testing the virus and spur faster public health responses.
As avian influenza sweeps West Bengal, India’s only laboratory specialising in testing bird flu is dealing with many times the number of samples it can handle.
Hundreds of samples of dead birds are being sent every week to the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in the central city of Bhopal to test for what the World Health Organisation says is the worst outbreak of bird flu in India.
“It has been decided to build several new laboratories especially in view of the bird flu situation now,” Santanu Kumar Bandyopadhyay, India’s animal husbandry commissioner said. “Things are moving quickly.”
While the laboratory clears the backlog, veterinary workers at potentially infected areas wait for the signal to begin culling poultry, often running the risk of the virus spreading.
Officials say new laboratories and research facilities are imperative in view of the rapid spread of the avian flu in the eastern state.
To begin with, at least six laboratories are being built which will be of biosafety level-3 (BSL-3), or clinical and diagnostic facilities that work with potentially lethal agents.
The new laboratories will supplement the efforts of the Bhopal laboratory.
“These centres will come up at existing regional diseases diagnostic laboratories,” Bandyopadhyay said.
“They will be capable of handling emergencies arising out of the avian influenza virus.” - Reuters
Rain hampers culling operations in bird flu hit districts
24 Jan, 2008, 1131 hrs IST, PTI
KOLKATA: Rains in eight bird-flu hit districts of West Bengal hampered culling operations on Thursday even as the Malda district administration is yet to begin destruction of poultry even after 72 hours of the virus being detected in the area.
Malda District Magistrate C R Das said besides Katihar in adjoining Bihar, the virus might spread to North Dinazpur district since it too falls within ten km radius of the affected Chanchol-1 block of Malda district.
The district administration was yet to start culling operation due to lack of personnel, Das said. The virus was detected in poultry on January 21.
Unseasonal rain since yesterday has, meanwhile, hampered culling in Bankura, Birbhum, Coochbehar, Hooghly, Nadia, South Dinazpur, Bardhaman and Murshibadbad districts.
There were reports of resentments among poultry owners for not getting the promised compensation.
Animal Resources Development Minister Anisur Rehman said coupons were distributed among those who lost poultry. Those coupons could be encashed from respective panchayat offices.
Meanwhile, a truck carrying 1,000 chicken, being brought from West Midnapore district, was intercepted by local people and handed over to police last night at Moina police station area of East Medinipur district where already over 2,000 chicken have died during the past few days.
West Bengal reels as H5N1 virus extends grip Commodity Online KOLKATA: The dreaded H5N1 virus that causes bird flu continue to spread across more districts in West Bengal even as authorities set target to kill three lakh chickens every day to prevent it from spreading.
Cooch Behar and Hoogly districts were declared bird flu hit on Wednesday taking the number of affected districts in the State to nine as samples of chicken sent from these districts to the Highrisk Security Disease Laboratory in Bhopal tested positive.
The samples which tested positive were from Dinhata in Cooch Behar district and Balagarh in Hooghly district.
There was, however, no case of human’s beings being affected.
West Bengal Animal Resources Development Minister Anisur Rahaman said the target of culling which was set at 20 lakh was also likely to increase. The daily target now was three lakh with 600 teams on the job from today, he said.
About 150 technical teams from eight states, including Haryana, Assam, Maharashtra, Orissa and Jharkhand would soon join to monitor the culling. West Bengal’s border with neighboring states has already been sealed, the minister said.
In the already affected districts, the H5N1 virus was reported from more blocks in Nadia and Murshidabad districts of the state.
Kolkata, Jan 24 (IANS): With almost half of West Bengal gripped by the deadly bird flu, the state's poultry industry says it has lost over Rs.1 billion in the past weeks owing to the spread of the virus and sluggish culling operation.
Of the over 2.1 million poultry earmarked for culling in the nine districts affected so far, only 430,000 have been slaughtered so far, nine days after the outbreak was declared.
According to West Bengal Poultry Welfare Association president Sheikh Nazrul Islam, the industry has suffered a loss of about Rs.1 billion in the past week.
"Culling is slow and ham-handed. We are suffering because of that. The police are harassing us by intercepting our consignments and even demanding bribes while the fear of bird flu among people is affecting the business," Islam told IANS.
The Rs.5 billion industry in West Bengal is facing its worst ever setback, said Islam.
"We are impoverished. We have to start from scratch now," he added.
Village women who relied on poultry farming for their livelihood are devastated.
"How will we live now? All the 20 hens and ducks I had were slaughtered. We were heavily dependent on the earning from selling of eggs," said a woman from Mangolkot in Burdwan district, about 200 km from here.
Islam spoke of instances where people in affected areas are still hiding their poultry. "In rural areas the government had given a woman member of each family 10 hens. Now when they are demanding them back for culling, the families are not forthcoming," he said.
The owners are being given tokens at culling sites and asked to contact their panchayat or village block offices for compensation. The payment is Rs.40 for a country chicken, Rs.30 for a broiler and Rs.10 for a chick.
Many villagers are, however, unhappy with the compensation price even as Animal Husbandry Minister Anisur Rahman said spot payments were being made in many places.
The state government has sanctioned Rs.50 million for tackling the bird flu outbreak while the centre has disbursed Rs.35 million. The state government has asked for another Rs.80.25 million from the centre.
The nine districts now in the grip of the epidemic are Birbhum, South Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Nadia, Burdwan, Bankura, Malda, Hooghly and Cooch Behar .
"From 640 culling teams we hope to increase the number to 750 Thursday," Rahman said.
Meanwhile, even though the minister claimed that culling was in full swing, Malda District Magistrate Chitta Ranjan Das said the process was yet to start in the affected region and might not take off before Friday.
"We got the confirmation about the virus Tuesday evening. We need some time for preparations. We have to make villagers aware (of the crisis)," he said.
While the bird flu has been confirmed in Chanchol I block of Malda, 350 km from Kolkata, the culling would cover at least two more blocks (Harishchandrapur and Itahar) and parts of Bihar.
While inclement weather in Malda compounded the problem, the culling order was issued Wednesday in neighbouring Bihar 's Katihar district, District Magistrate Pran Mohan Thakur said.
The H5N1 virus causes a type of influenza in birds that is highly contagious. It does not usually infect people unless they come in close contact with infected birds or contaminated surfaces.
All human samples tested for infection have proved negative so far.
Several states have banned the import of chicken from West Bengal .
Tamil Nadu is another state in India, South India.
Bird Flu scare in Tamil Nadu ?
1/24/2008
Poultry owners in Kuchipalayam village in Tamil Nadu are living in fear. With more than 100 chickens dying mysteriously over the past few days, there are worries that the Bird Flu that devastated West Bengal has entered their state too. The government's claims that all precautions are in place, have not done much to reassure them.
Over 100 chicken die in Salem district
"Many chicken have been dying recently. With the Bird Flu in West Bengal, we are all very scared," admitted poultry farm owner in Kuchipalayam, P Chinnaswami.
Shockingly, though the state government has said the poultry deaths are being taken seriously not one blood sample has been sent to the specialised testing labs in Bhopal, raising many eyebrows. Despite the fears and with no tests being done, the state government has insisted there is no reason to worry.
Tamil Nadu Health Minister said, "We are taking all precautions" - but belying the state administration's tall claims that those working closely with poultry have been provided with adequate protective gear, TIMES NOW found the ground reality in villages like Namakkal spoke otherwise.
And with over 100 poultry deaths already reported from Tamil Nadu, panic has set in in these areas that this phenomenon will only continue.
Rain forces culling halt as India battles worst bird flu outbreak
20 minutes ago
India's battle against its worst-ever outbreak of bird flu suffered a new blow Thursday as rain forced a halt to culling in West Bengal, an official said.
The virus has already spread to over half the state and the government there has declared the outbreak a crisis, having already admitted it was falling behind in its fight against the deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu.
"Culling has been stopped for the time-being because of the rain -- it will start immediately after the rains cease," state animal resources minister Anisur Rahaman told AFP in Murshidabad, 230 kilometres (140 miles) north of the state capital Kolkata.
Doctors and veterinarians from neighbouring states were arriving in Kolkata to join the culling teams fanning out across the state, the minister said.
But rains, which began early Thursday, had turned many of the rural dirt roads into mud rivers, complicating the battle against the outbreak -- the third and by far the worst to hit India.
Although India has so far not had any human cases of bird flu, Rahaman said he feared the disease would spread to humans with hundreds of people reporting flu symptoms and children "playing with chickens" in affected villages.
Ten out of West Bengal's 19 districts have been affected by bird flu -- representing more than half of the eastern state of 80 million people.
"We were not prepared for a such disaster, we're now getting ready to combat the crisis. We've asked human and veterinary doctors in government hospitals to join the culling as well as private doctors," the minister added.
"We're on a war-footing," he said, speaking from the town near the border with Bangladesh.
It is from Bangladesh that the bird flu is believed to have come from, and authorities there say it has been erupting sporadically since last February.
"We have targeted the culling of at least 2.2 million chickens," Rahaman said. "We have now 650 teams involved in the culling operations. We're trying to get more teams to speed up the culling."
People typically catch bird flu by coming into direct contact with infected poultry. Experts fear a pandemic if the H5N1 strain mutates into a form easily transmissible between humans.
U.S. Embassy New Delhi
24 January 2008
The United States Mission is monitoring carefully the outbreak of H5N1 Avian Influenza in Eastern India. The Government of India has confirmed that the outbreak is spreading to other districts of the state of West Bengal, and unconfirmed reports have been received from districts near Kolkata. U.S. citizens should monitor local media for developments and the latest information on affected areas so that they can avoid travel to the areas with concentrations of the disease. It is also very important that U.S. citizens follow the advice of local government health officials who are responding to the outbreak.
All U.S. citizens are encouraged to practice good hygiene, such as washing hands, scrupulously cleaning food preparation areas, and fully cooking food. In addition, U.S. citizens are advised to avoid close contact with any fowl, such as chickens and ducks, to stay clear of any sick birds, and to not visit "wet" markets where poultry are slaughtered.
The U.S. Consulate General in Kolkata will host a "town hall" meeting on Friday, January 25, 2008, at 2:30 PM for all U.S. citizens to answer questions regarding Avian Influenza. The meeting will take place in the Lincoln Room at the American Center, located at 38-A, Jawaharlal Nehru Road, Kolkata 700 071.
While it is possible that humans will eventually contract this deadly disease, U.S. citizens in India are reminded that Avian Influenza is primarily a disease of birds. People who have contracted Avian Influenza have generally had close and prolonged contact with infected birds (usually chickens or ducks), their feces, or their blood. Human-to-human transmission has been exceptional, and has been the result of sustained, close contact with the infected individual.
All U.S. citizens should consider their medium-term plans in the unlikely event that Avian Influenza ever becomes a virulent human disease, or pandemic flu. Pandemic planning information is available at www.pandemicflu.gov.
For further information on avian influenza, the U.S. Embassy suggests that you consult the U.S. Department of State's Avian Influenza Fact Sheet at http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/health/health_1181.htm, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) web site at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/index.htm. World Health Organization (WHO) guidance related to Avian Influenza is available at http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/en/.
Americans living or traveling in India are encouraged to register with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate through the State Department's travel registration web site, https://travelregistration.state.gov/, and to obtain updated information on travel and security within India. Americans without Internet access may register directly with the U.S. Embassy or the nearest Consulate. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency.
For the latest security information, Americans traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department’s Internet website at http://travel.state.gov where the current Worldwide Caution Publics Announcements can be found. Up-to-date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the United States, or, for callers outside the United States and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).
U.S. citizens may contact the American Citizens Services Unit of the Embassy or the Consulates General for further information. Each of the telephone numbers listed below is available 24 hours a day for emergency services.
---The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi is located at Shanti Path, Chanakya puri 110021; telephone +91-11-2419-8000; fax +91-11-2419-8407. The Embassy’s Internet home page address is http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov.
---The U.S. Consulate General in Mumbai is located at Lincoln House, 78 Bhulabhai Desai Road, 400026, telephone +91-22-2363-3611; fax +91-22-2363-0350. Internet home page address is http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov.
---The U.S. Consulate General in Kolkata is at 5/1 Ho Chi Minh Sarani, 700071, telephone +91-33-3984-2400; fax +91-33-2282-2335. The internet home page address is http://kolkata.usconsulate.gov.
---The U.S. Consulate General in Chennai is at 220 Anna Salai, Gemini Circle, 600006, telephone +91-44-2857-4000; fax +91-44-2857-4344. The Internet home page address is http://chennai.usconsulate.gov.http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov/warden_information.html
Helblini AVIAN INFLUENZA – NO HUMANS AFFECTED – SITUATIONAL REPORT AS ON 23-1-2008 11:42 IST
Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Govt. of India has notified Avian Influenza in poultry in a number of blocks spread over nine districts, namely Birbhum, Dakshin Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Nadia, Bankura, Malda, Cooch behar, Burdwan and Hoogly.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) initiated a series of actions to assist the state in the containment operations and restrict further spread of the disease. Senior Officials from this Ministry were deputed to review the situation with State Health Authorities. The contingency plan of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has been implemented in affected districts. Seven Central Rapid Response Teams are assisting the State in containment operations. In all the affected areas, active human surveillance is being undertaken in the 0-3 Km zone and being further stepped up in 3-10 Km area. Persons having Upper Respiratory Infection [URI]/ Fever are being monitored. Health care facilities have been identified with isolation ward and critical care facilities for management of human cases of Avian Influenza. The animal health staff involved in the culling and sanitization operations and those involved in human health surveillance are being provided chemoprophylaxis and their health status is being monitored. No suspected human cases of Avian Influenza have been detected. Five samples tested so far have been reported negative.
MOHFW has supplied 1,20,000 capsules of Oseltamivir, 5000 personal protective equipments, 5000 N-95 masks and 5 ventilators. This is in addition to 10 ventilators and 10 semi automatic analyzers supplied earlier. An additional supply of 1,00,000 capsules of Oseltamivir, 100 bottles of Oseltsamivir syrup and 5 ventilators have been sent on 23.01.2008. There is adequate stock of Oseltamivir and Personal Protection Equipments to meet further requirements.
States of Jharkhand, Bihar and Assam that share a common border with West Bengal have been instructed to ban and prevent any entry of poultry or poultry related products from West Bengal into these States. Other States have also been put on alert. MOHFW has deputed Central teams to the states of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and other North Eastern States to review the level of preparedness and fill critical gaps. The preparedness of the districts bordering West Bengal is also being reviewed through videoconference with state/ district authorities.
MOHFW has initiated IEC campaign to sensitize the community through the visual and print media. This includes broadcast of spots on private and Government owned FM channels in West Bengal. The spots are also scheduled to be broadcast 5-6 times before and between popular programmes and the National News broadcast during morning and late evening hours in the States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Rajasthan, Orissa, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. Telecast of campaign on Avian Influenza through Doordarshan Kendras of Patna, Ranchi, Kolkatta and Guwahati has been initiated.
A control room is functioning from the Emergency Medical Relief division of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in New Delhi from 8.00 AM to 8.00 PM. The control room number is 23061469. Daily status reports are being web hoisted and could be accessed at www.mohfw.nic.in.
Tamil Nadu is another state in India, South India.
Bird Flu scare in Tamil Nadu ?
1/24/2008
Poultry owners in Kuchipalayam village in Tamil Nadu are living in fear. With more than 100 chickens dying mysteriously over the past few days, there are worries that the Bird Flu that devastated West Bengal has entered their state too. The government's claims that all precautions are in place, have not done much to reassure them.
Over 100 chicken die in Salem district
"Many chicken have been dying recently. With the Bird Flu in West Bengal, we are all very scared," admitted poultry farm owner in Kuchipalayam, P Chinnaswami.
Shockingly, though the state government has said the poultry deaths are being taken seriously not one blood sample has been sent to the specialised testing labs in Bhopal, raising many eyebrows. Despite the fears and with no tests being done, the state government has insisted there is no reason to worry.
Tamil Nadu Health Minister said, "We are taking all precautions" - but belying the state administration's tall claims that those working closely with poultry have been provided with adequate protective gear, TIMES NOW found the ground reality in villages like Namakkal spoke otherwise.
And with over 100 poultry deaths already reported from Tamil Nadu, panic has set in in these areas that this phenomenon will only continue.
PERIYAKULAM: About 2,000 dead broilers were found floating in a highly decomposed state in a pool at Vellakaradu near Devadanapatti in Theni district causing panic and the villagers fear that the birds might have died due to avian flu.
The Vellakaradu pool is located near Kamatchi Amman temple along Devadanapatti - Pullakkapatti Road.
The water in the pool is stagnant and dirty. Dead fowls were found floating in the pool and the whole area was reeking with the stench of rotten flesh.
Many people in the area do not know how the birds landed in the pool. But they suspect that the fowls may have died of bird flu.
They also feel that the poultry farm owners in the area may have disposed the birds to avoid being questioned by authorities.
The people have requested the authorities to remove these birds from the pool and clean it or refill the water.
In the meanwhile, agricultural workers are not reporting for work fearing that they may become victims of avian flu.
OVER 6.6 LAKH BIRDS CULLED; 583 RAPID RESPONSE TEAMS IN FIELD
As per latest information received, a cumulative mortality of 1,18,068 poultry birds has been
reported from West Bengal, of which 1865 birds died on 23.01.2008 in Murshidabad district. This
number stood at 1,16,203 till yesterday.
On 23.01.2008, 468 Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) were deployed for culling and surveillance
operations as per details below:
Districts Birbhum Dakshin
Dinajpur
Murshida
-bad
Nadia Burdwan Bankura Total
No. of RRTs 145 9 81 197 131 20 583
Yesterday, 468 RRTs were engaged in operations.
Latest position of culling and destruction of eggs & feed carried out till 23.01.2008 is
given below:
Numbers are written differently in India. They do not have a word for MILLION.
There are two terms in particular that are worth discussing: lakh
and crore. A lakh is one hundred thousand (100,000), a crore is ten
million (10,000,000). The South Asian numbering system progresses as
follows: ten (das), hundred (sau), thousand (hejar in Hindi, hezar
in Urdu), one hundred thousand (lakh) and ten million (crore).
Commas are usually placed to show the number of lakhs and crores, so
one lakh is written 1,00,000 and one crore is written 1,00,00,000.
West Bengal Says Bird Flu Outbreak Under Control (Lead)
Thursday 24th of January 2008
West Bengal authorities said Thursday the bird flu outbreak was under control, after days of panic, but added it would take four-five days to cull the over two million birds in the affected areas.
'The outbreak is under control. There is no report of the disease spreading to new areas,' Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Roy said after meeting Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and Animal Husbandry Minister Anisur Rahaman.
'The culling operation will be completed in Burdwan, Bankura and South Dinajpur districts by Thursday. We need to step up our operation in Murshidabad and Birbhum. It will take another four-five days to complete our task,' Roy added.
Roy allayed fears of the virus reaching Kolkata in the wake of reports of outbreak in Hooghly, only 19 km from the city. 'There is no threat to Kolkata. We are keeping a close watch on the situation.'
The chief minister directed Roy to ensure the disease did not envelop Kolkata. All entry points to the city have been sealed to prevent the entry of affected birds.
The deadly bird flu has led to the slaughter of over 450,000 birds in West Bengal so far even as it spread to Dinhata in Cooch Behar district in the north and Balagarh in Hooghly district, affecting nine of the total 19 districts.
'So far 34 blocks and four municipal areas have been hit by the disease,' minister Rahman said. 'From 640 culling teams Wednesday, the number was increased to 750 Thursday.'
Meanwhile, culling id set to commence in Malda, where the outbreak was confirmed three days back, district magistrate C.R. Das told IANS.
Reeling under the impact of the virus, the state's poultry industry said it had lost over Rs.1 billion ($25 million) in the past fortnight.
'Culling is slow and ham-handed. We are suffering because of that. The police are harassing us by intercepting our consignments and demanding bribes while the adverse campaign has affected the business,' West Bengal Poultry Welfare Association president Sheikh Nazrul Islam told IANS.
'In rural areas the government had given a woman member of each family 10 hens. Now when it is demanding them back for culling, the families are not forthcoming,' he said.
'We are impoverished. We have to start from the scratch now,' said Islam. Many states have banned the import of chicken from West Bengal.
In the villages, women folk who saw better days from rearing backyard poultry are devastated.
'How will we live now? All the 20 hens and ducks I had were slaughtered. We were heavily dependent on the earning from selling eggs,' said a woman from Mangolkot in Burdwan district, about 200 km from here.
The government has sanctioned Rs.50 million to battle the flu while the central government has disbursed Rs.35 million. The government has sought Rs.80.25 million more.
Farmers were being given tokens at culling sites and asked to contact their panchayat or village block offices for compensation. The payment is Rs.40 for a country chicken, Rs.30 for a broiler and Rs.10 for a chick.
Many villagers, however, are unhappy with the compensation. The nine districts now in the grip of the epidemic are Birbhum, South Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Nadia, Burdwan, Bankura, Malda, Hooghly and Cooch Behar.
The H5N1 virus causes a type of influenza in birds that is highly contagious. It does not usually infect people unless they come in close contact with infected birds or contaminated surfaces.
West Bengal Says Bird Flu Outbreak Under Control (Lead)
'The outbreak is under control. There is no report of the disease spreading to new areas,' Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Roy said after meeting Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and Animal Husbandry Minister Anisur Rahaman.
Flu threat looms large over Indian city
Kolkata: 53 minutes ago
Authorities patrolled poultry markets in Kolkata to try to stop bird flu spreading to one of India's largest cities as fears grew the outbreak of the disease in eastern India was out of control.
Bird flu has spread to nine of West Bengal's 19 districts and there were reports of more bird deaths in another five districts in the state of 80 million people.
"The virus is most likely to spread to other areas within the infected zones and nearby districts, but we are now trying to stop it from hitting Kolkata," said Surjya Kanta Mishra, the state's health minister.
The H5N1 bird flu virus has been confirmed in two districts so far. Authorities have not confirmed H5N1 in other districts but say it is likely to be the same strain.
The World Health Organisation has said it was India's most serious outbreak since the strain was first detected in the country in 2006. On Thursday, a 30-year-old Indonesian man who had tested positive for bird flu died, and the virus has also resurfaced in Europe.
Indonesia has had the most fatalities from bird flu of any country, with the toll currently at 98 people dead.
Thailand said on Thursday the strain was confirmed in poultry in a northern province, while Bangladesh has been struggling to contain an outbreak that has affected more than two dozen districts. West Bengal borders Bangladesh.
Scientists fear the strain could mutate into a form easily transmitted from person to person, leading to a pandemic that could kill millions around the globe.
Authorities found avian influenza in dead bird samples from Hooghly district, a little more than an hour's drive from the crowded West Bengal capital, Kolkata.
More than five million people live in Kolkata, a city dotted with rows of large houses, crumbling colonial buildings, glittering glass offices and congested slums.
Hundreds of health officials searched markets in the city's narrow lanes, looking for sick birds smuggled in from infected districts.
Health officials were also checking birds at the biggest poultry farm in the state near Kolkata.
"A strict surveillance has been put in place and we are checking every single truck coming into the city," said Anisur Rahaman, the state's animal resources minister. "We are making every effort to save the city from the virus."-Reuters
Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government on Thursday sounded alert in the state in view of bird flu epidemic in West Bengal even though no case of the deadly virus has been reported here.
There are no cases of bird flu in Madhya Pradesh but instructions have been given to all the district chiefs and departmental officers to remain alert in view of the epidemic in West Bengal, an official statement said.
Constant vigil is being maintained on the dealers who import poultry from other states and the water reservoirs, which are visited by migratory birds, it said.
Last week, 8,799 samples were collected from across the state and sent to High Security Animal Diseases Research Laboratory here. But no traces of bird flu were found.
The officers have also been instructed to take prompt action in case they get report of large-scale and sudden death of birds anywhere in the state.
Bird flu knocks on Kolkata’s door
merinews network, 24 January 2008, Thursday
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The deadly H5N1 virus has arrived at Kolkata’s doorstep with avian flu confirmed in Hooghly. The virus has affected 34 blocks and four municipal areas in nine districts, informed animal resource development minister (ARDM) Anisur Rahman.
THE DEADLY H5N1 virus in Bengal is knocking at Kolkata’s door. Avian flu was confirmed almost on Kolkata’s border in Hooghly district and in Coochbehar in North Bengal late Wednesday (Jan 24). Roads to Kolkata are being monitored to prevent transportation of chicken and eggs from the affected areas.
The number of districts affected by avian flu now stands at nine. Samples sent from Gopalpur village in Balagarh, Hooghly, and Jaridharala village in Dinhata, Coochbehar to the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal tested positive.
Till now the virus has affected 34 blocks and four municipal areas in nine districts, animal resource development minister (ARDM) Anisur Rahman told the city media.
There is growing resentment among poultry owners who are not getting the compensation. The minister said coupons were distributed among those who have lost poultry. The coupons could be changed for money from respective panchayat offices. The minister said he would appeal to New Delhi to increase the compensation amount. The current compensation is in keeping with norms set up by the Centre.
Rainfall in eight of the bird-flu affected districts of Bengal disrupted culling operations. Unseasonal rain since Wednesday has hampered culling operations in Bankura, Burdwan, Birbhum, Hooghly, Nadia, South Dinajpur, Murshibadbad and Coochbehar districts. The government is working on a revised culling target.
By Tuesday nightfall 414,000 birds had been culled in Birbhum, South Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Nadia, Burdwan, and Bankura. In South Dinajpur the culling target has been met with 80,000 birds slaughtered.
The number of culling teams has been raised from 476 to 640. To create awareness among rural folk all-party meetings are being organised in flu-affected districts.
Meanwhile, officials from the US and Japanese consulates met animal resource secretary Dilip Chakraborty on Wednesday for details of the bird flu. Poultry products from Bengal are exported to the two countries, the minister told reporters.
Indian battles bird flu, UN sounds alarm over Bangladesh
by Sailendra Sil 17 minutes ago
Bodies of chickens were left to rot Thursday in India as the country battled its worst bird flu outbreak while a UN agency warned the virus also posed a health threat in neighbouring Bangladesh.
The disease has already spread to over half of India's West Bengal state whose government called the outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu a "crisis."
Drenching rain that turned rural dirt roads in West Bengal into muddy rivers forced a temporary halt to culling Thursday, dealing another setback to the fight against India's third and by far its worse bird flu outbreak.
Later when the rains stopped, the killing of birds resumed but villagers staged protests as culling teams refused to bury dead poultry.
"They're leaving the dead poultry on farms and along roads," said villager Munirul Sheikh in Ganganagar, 200 kilometres (120 miles) north of Kolkata.
"Dozens of dead chickens are rotting in farms," he said.
"We're not instructed to pick up the dead chickens. Villagers can bury them," said Kashinath Majumdar, a government official heading a culling team.
West Bengal animal resources minister Anisur Rahaman, who has already expressed fears the disease would spread to humans, called the failure to bury the dead chickens "a communication gap."
"I will ask the culling teams to bury the dead chickens," he said. People typically catch bird flu by coming into direct contact with infected poultry.
The confusion over how to deal with the dead chickens in the state of 80 million people came as the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation warned that Bangladesh needed "house-to-house surveillance" to combat bird flu there.
"The situation has worsened in the past week compared to the first few months of the outbreak" of the H5N1 virus that began last February, FAO's Bangladesh chief Ad Spijkers told AFP.
"It's posing a danger to public health," Spijkers said in Dhaka, capital of impoverished Bangladesh where Indian officials believe India's H5N1 avian flu outbreak originated.
Aid "donors are going to meet with the government very soon to discuss comprehensive measures to fight the disease. It's posing a danger to public health," he said.
Spijkers' statement came amid a rise in reports of the disease in Bangladesh's southern, central and northern districts and border forces were put on high alert to stop poultry entering from West Bengal.
Bangladesh authorities insist the disease remains contained in the impoverished nation of 144 million people but experts differ, saying the situation is far worse and that farmers are holding back from reporting cases.
Meanwhile in India's West Bengal, doctors and veterinarians from neighbouring states were arriving in Kolkata to join the culling teams.
"Altogether 934 culling teams are involved in slaughtering poultry," said minister Rahaman, adding teams had killed nearly 700,000 out of 2.2 million chickens slated to be culled.
"The remaining will be culled in the next three to four days," he said.
Experts fear a pandemic if the H5N1 strain mutates into a form easily transmissible between humans.
Neither Bangladesh nor India has so far had any human cases of bird flu. But Rahaman said he feared the disease would spread to humans with hundreds of people reporting flu symptoms and children "playing with chickens."
However, shops and market stalls that previously were selling chicken were now selling vegetables in affected areas, witnesses reported.
Culling teams initially faced resistance from locals but villagers started handing over their poultry after the government began giving out immediate compensation for the dead birds.
But farmers in the poverty-stricken state still feared financial hardship.
"We've never heard of bird flu, but it's destroyed the village's economy, said poultry farmer Safirul Islam. Meanwhile in Indonesia, a 30-year-old man has died of bird flu, the government said Thursday, bringing the toll to 98 in the nation worst hit by the H5N1 virus.
Published: Thursday 24 January 2008 11:55 UTC
Last updated: Thursday 24 January 2008 16:34 UTC
Kolkata - The Indian government fears a major outbreak of avian influenza in the city of Colcata. Dead birds found relatively close to the city tested positive for the H5N1 variant of the virus, which can be lethal to humans.
Bird flu has broken out in nine of the 19 districts of the federal state of West Bengal, in which Colcata is located. In at least two of these districts, the outbreak was caused by the H5N1 variant.
The Indian authorities have initiated a mass slaughter of the birds, but it is reportedly not going fast enough. At least two million birds will have to be killed.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said here Thursday that the prime minister had called for a widespread campaign be launched against the disease across the country.
"I have been directed by the prime minister to give widespread publicity to the bird flu situation," Dasmunsi told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
"We are launching a campaign via All India Radio as many villages have no access to television," the minister added.
A [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]health[/color][/color] ministry official said: "The campaign includes broadcast of spots on private and government owned FM channels in West Bengal. The spots would be broadcast five to six times before and between popular programmes and the national news during morning and late evening hours."
The states to be covered include Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Orissa, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.
The official Doordarshan television centres in Patna, Ranchi, Kolkata and Guwahati would start telecasting bird flu campaigns.
Though bird flu was not on the cabinet's agenda, the issue was discussed at length. Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar gave a detailed account of the situation in West Bengal, where nine districts have been affected by avian influenza.
Dasmunsi blamed the state government for its "lethargy" in reporting the bird flu situation.
"There was a little delay in culling the birds. The bird flu started Jan 4 in some parts of West Bengal but the attention of the central government was drawn only on Jan 11," the minister said.
Dasmunsi said that a "timely joint initiative (by the centre and the state) could have been launched earlier to control it".
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has already expressed concern over the situation in West Bengal and termed it as "serious".
Of over 2.1 million poultry earmarked for culling in the nine districts, only 430,000 have been slaughtered so far - nine days after the outbreak was declared.
Dasmunsi said the West Bengal chief secretary was in touch with the agriculture ministry on a day-to-day basis.
The state has informed the centre that it has adequate medicines and equipment to handle the situation, Dasmunsi said. "The culling operation is on, and if required the centre would provide all necessary help to West Bengal."
--- IANS
New Delhi: Poultry death due to the dreaded bird flu reached over 1.18 lakh in West Bengal today as the culling operations were speeded up with the teams fanning out to three more districts.
The culling operations have started in Malda, Cooch Behar and Hooghly districts of the state today, Union Animal Husbandry Commissioner S K Bandhopadhyay said here.
The total number of poultry culled reached 6,65,633, he said, adding the virus was not detected in any fresh area today.
When asked about whether there is any proposal to increase the compensation, Bandhopadhyay said, "There is nothing on paper.”
The Commissioner said that it would take six-to-seven days to complete the culling operations, provided the virus does not spread to new areas. The number of birds to be culled as per the latest estimate is 24 lakhs.
He said the West Bengal government would increase the number of teams in Murshidabad districts.
The source of the virus has not been detected yet, he said, adding Bhutan has banned the poultry imports from India. Meanwhile, allaying fears of any human cases, the Union Health Ministry said persons having Upper Respiratory Infection or fever were being monitored. Health care facilities have been identified with isolation ward and critical health care facilities for management of human cases of Avian Influenza.
The culling teams in Hooghly district are having a hard time. They are going from door to door in search of chicken, getting into arguments with villagers and getting nowhere.
Pigeon owner Ripon Das has a coop full of pigeons, which he is determined not to part with.
''I will not let them kill the pigeons. I have had them for a long time as pets. I cannot give them away with my own hands to be killed,'' said Ripon Das, Pigeon owner.
But the culling teams are not losing heart. In fact, at Sherpur village, they actually demonstrated that their heart was in the right place.
In a bid to win over people who must lose their chicken, the culling teams are making compromises.
They are counting as live chicken that have died or are almost dead in the coops in the homes of the villagers and they are paying compensation for them.
At another bird owner Ashoka Das's home, for instance, there were two dead chicken in the coop along with three live ones.
While calculating compensation, the cullers slipped in compensation for the dead chicken as well. So Ashoka got paid for five chicken and not just the three that were culled.
''We are paying people who are poor a little extra. It is not being given to everybody but yes we are making exceptions. These people are very poor we know that,'' said Swapan Mallick, Chicken culler
Culling is cruel business, and the cullers know they are hitting people where it hurts in their hearts and in their pockets. So, even if the compensation bill is a little inflated, they would rather cull with kindness.
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India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+
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