Announcement

**HenryN** · February 5, 2008, 08:51 AM

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px"><TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #dcdcdc 1px solid" colSpan=2>Culling of poultry begins in Bihar
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</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left>Press Trust of India

Tuesday, February 5, 2008 (Patna)

Culling of poultry began on Tuesday in Bihar's Purnia district adjacent to West Bengal as a precautionary measure.

Though no case of bird flu has been reported in Bihar, culling operations are to be undertaken in 19 blocks of Purnia, Katihar and Kishanganj districts.

This is in compliance with the Union Health Ministry's order to Bihar, Assam, Jharkhand and Orissa to kill the birds in villages falling within five km of their borders with bird flu-hit West Bengal.

Bihar's Director of Animal Husbandry Department Brahmachari Chandrashekhar Prasad Singh, who is camping at Katihar to supervise the exercise, told PTI over phone that 25 birds have so far been culled in Hafnia, Gangar and Sripur Mallahtola panchayats in Amour block of Purnia district since Tuesday morning.

He said teams have also been sent to the identified areas in Katihar and Kishanganj districts.

Altogether 33 teams of experts have been constituted for carrying out the operation in Katihar, six for Purnia and 20 for Kishanganj.

According to Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, since poultry farming is rarely done in the organised sector in Bihar and was basically a backyard trade, the government has sought cooperation of panchayati raj bodies and local public representatives to ensure effective compliance with the order.

The farmers are being given a compensation of Rs 40 per for non-broiler chicken, Rs 30 for broiler chicken and Rs 10 for chicks to be culled.

The culling teams have been supplied with 650 protective equipment and 10,000 tablets of Tamiflu to protect them from the H5N1 virus, one of the most pathogenic viruses that afflicts poultry and could affect humans also.

The state government had ordered culling of poultry in six panchayats of Azamnagar block in Katihar district on January 2 and had 400 of them killed before the authorities discovered that the locations did not fall within five km of Mahanandpur village in Malda district of West Bengal afflicted by birdflu.

The culling was immediately stopped and a team from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) led by its Joint Director R S Gupta visited parts of Katihar and Kishanganj districts on January 27 and felt there was no need for culling.

However, sources in Bihar's Animal Husbandry department said the order issued by the Union Health Ministry on February 1 was aimed at ensuring that not a single avian flu case erupted in the area in close proximity to West Bengal.

Meanwhile, Joint Secretary in the Union Animal Husbandry Department M A Agnihotri has arrived in Purnia on Tuesday to discuss with Purnia Divisional Commissioner R K Khandelwal and officials of the three districts steps undertaken to prevent avian influenza, including culling of birds.

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http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080040458&ch=2/5/2008%205:57:00%20PM

**HenryN** · February 5, 2008, 09:22 AM

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

India's risky bird flu offensive
<TABLE><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=bottom>By Subir Bhaumik
BBC News, Hatpur, West Bengal </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


Hundreds of curious people watch the culling of poultry at Hatpur village in the Indian state of West Bengal with no protective clothing - not even a towel around their noses.

The only people in the village with protective gear for bird flu are the five members of the culling team - and this correspondent.

Local official Aloka Mondal says she is busy trying to meet government targets for culling birds and does not have the time to follow the safety protocol.
Standard practice for culling dictates that villages have to be vacated, people without protective gear should be removed from the area and the culled birds should be disposed off in sanitised zones.
"I have a target to achieve. We have to cull 45,000 to 50,000 birds in our area and we have been asked to do it within two days," says Ms Mondal.
"We don't have enough people in government to do it, so we have drafted some locals for a daily fee."
Chanditola, Hatpur and Jonai are latest in the list of bird-flu affected areas in West Bengal.
They are located in Hooghly district, just two hours from the state's capital, Calcutta (Kolkata), and have some of the state's largest commercial and backyard poultries.
Hooghly is among the 13 of West Bengal's 19 districts that have been hit by bird flu in what is, according to officials, a "massive outbreak".
No cases of human infection have been reported.
Local officials such as Ms Mondal have been told that they will be taken to task if they cannot achieve the culling targets.

Nearly 2.4 million birds have been culled in West Bengal in the past fortnight.
But the target has now been hiked to 2.8 million after samples from some areas like Chanditola, Hatpur and Jonai tested positive.
"We are told if culling is not completed, bird flu may spread in my district and cause greater losses to poultry farmers. Also there could be human infection. So we cannot concentrate on anything other than culling," says Ms Mondal.
However, if villagers are allowed to gather around and watch the culling without protection, the threat of human infection is greater.
Two policemen accompanying the culling team working in Kajal Bagh's farm at Hatpur occasionally chase away the villagers but they come back in greater numbers, ever more curious.
Safety lapse
And without any protective clothing, the villagers get to within a metre or two of the jute sacks in which the culled birds are collected for dumping in a nearby marsh.
"Safety has been a casualty in the entire culling operation all across West Bengal since mid-January," says animal disease expert Debojit Brahma.
"The government is only worried about how many birds have been killed."
In an unusual safety lapse, the West Bengal government allowed thousands of members of culling teams to go home to their families without putting them through the mandatory quarantine.
Now many of them have been recalled to their base camps where they will be isolated and put through tests for a few days.
"We have now instructed district magistrates not to allow any culling team member to go home during the culling period and when they are on mandatory quarantine," says West Bengal Health Minister Surya Kanta Mishra.

But in Hatpur and Chanditola, where 15 culling teams have been deployed after samples from the area tested positive this week, the scene is different.
"Doctors have asked us to stay away from families during the culling. But where will we stay?" asks Somnath Santra, a member of the culling team at Hatpur.
"No camp has been set up for us, so we have to go home to eat and sleep at night."
The H5N1 strain of bird flu is regarded as highly pathogenic and can also cause disease and death among humans who have been in contact with affected animals.
There are fears the virus could trigger a global pandemic if it evolves to pass easily between humans.

Story from BBC NEWS:

BBC NEWS | South Asia | India's risky bird flu offensive

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/7227723.stm

BBC, News, BBC News, news online, world, uk, international, foreign, british, online, service

**HenryN** · February 5, 2008, 11:57 AM

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Comemntary at

Precautionary Culling Begins in Jharkhand

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02050806/Jharkhand_Culling.html

Recombinomics Commentary

**Snowy Owl** · February 5, 2008, 04:25 PM

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

Bengal bans poultry sale, transport</ARTTITLE>
6 Feb 2008, 0143 hrs IST,TNN

KOLKATA: Just 10 days after chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee asked for more supply of chicken to Kolkata from areas unaffected by bird flu, the state has clamped a blanket ban on sale and transport of poultry products all over West Bengal as a precaution against possible human infection.

The drastic step, coming 24 hours after both the Centre and state declared that the worst of the bird flu outbreak was over, raises questions about the effectiveness of the government's battle plan to tackle the virus.

State health minister Surjya Kanta Mishra and animal resources department minister Anisur Rahman said the 'indefinite suspension' of poultry sale was necessary to prevent transmission of bird flu.

"We will continue reviewing the situation and lift the suspension order whenever possible," they said at a joint news conference in Kolkata on Tuesday.

The government could not risk the H5N1 transmission to humans, Mishra said. "No one should blame us that we did not have the foresight to prevent such a situation," he said, hinting that the outbreak may be more widespread that believed.

"Except for Darjeeling and Coochbehar, some incident of bird flu has taken place everywhere else. We have not yet received the reports for all the samples sent for laboratory tests," he added.

But all 23 human samples sent to labs have tested negative for bird flu, he said. People suffering from fever in bird-flu hit areas are being put under close observation, he added.

So are nearly 3 million people living in the vicinity. CM will meet the PM in Delhi and seek more financial assistance.

Rahman allayed fears of an anthrax outbreak, saying six cows had died of the dreaded disease in Coochbehar but such "sporadic attacks were an annual event". "There is no cause for alarm. It can be controlled by the administration of vaccines."

Bengal bans poultry sale, transport | India News - Times of India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Bengal_bans_poultry_sale_transport/articleshow/2760043.cms

India News: The state has clamped a blanket ban on sale and transport of poultry products all over West Bengal as a precaution against possible human infection.

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**Snowy Owl** · February 5, 2008, 04:28 PM

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

Orissa to go for culling in 5 km radius
Tuesday February 5 2008 07:29 IST

<SMALL>BHUBANESWAR: Even in the face of a strong case put up by the Fisheries and Animal Resources Department (FARD) against culling of poultry birds in 5 km radius of Orissa-West Bengal border as instructed by the Centre, the Orissa Government on Monday decided to go for the kill.

The culling is likely to start from Wednesday, Chief Secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy told mediapersons after a meeting with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. ?As per the direction of the Centre, we decided to take up culling of all poultry birds in the 5 km corridor of Orissa-Bengal border,? he said.

For record?s sake, no case of bird flu has been detected in Orissa yet. All the samples sent from the State have tested negative. Though neighbouring West Bengal, where the flu was detected, went in for culling, it was confined just to the affected districts, not its bordering areas.

The Orissa Government, however, decided to play safe. While culling is slated to start by Wednesday, the FARD will decide if it needed support teams from Centre or can manage with its personnel. The Chief Secretary said the affected farmers would be given compensation as recommended by the Centre.

Earlier, Tripathy had a two-hour long meeting with officials of the FARD who were against culling. ?It will not only pose a threat to gene pool, a number of indigenous species are likely to be extinct. Moreover, we have no imminent threat because we have guarded the border very well,? an official said. Besides, the culling will create a sense of panic and affect business in a big way too.

?On the one hand, we are trying hard to encourage poultry farming. But on the other, we are destroying it through culling. The better idea is to create an immune zone,? the official said.</SMALL>
<SMALL></SMALL>
<SMALL>http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems...ORISSA&Topic=0</SMALL>

**Snowy Owl** · February 5, 2008, 04:31 PM

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

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-TOP: 3px" vAlign=top><SCRIPT type=text/javascript> //configuration OAS_url ='http://adstil.indiatimes.com/RealMedia/ads/'; OAS_listpos = 'Position1'; OAS_query = '?'; OAS_sitepage = 'www.economictimes.com/Innovation/index.html'; //end of configuration OAS_version = 10; OAS_rn = '001234567890'; OAS_rns = '1234567890'; OAS_rn = new String (Math.random()); OAS_rns = OAS_rn.substring (2, 11); function OAS_NORMAL(pos) { document.write(''); document.write(''); } </SCRIPT><SCRIPT type=text/javascript> OAS_version = 11; if (navigator.userAgent.indexOf('Mozilla/3') != -1) OAS_version = 10; if (OAS_version >= 11) document.write('<SC'+'RIPT LANGUAGE=JavaScript1.1 SRC="' + OAS_url + 'adstream_mjx.ads/' + OAS_sitepage + '/1' + OAS_rns + '@' + OAS_listpos + OAS_query + '"><\/SCRIPT>'); </SCRIPT><SCRIPT language=JavaScript1.1 src="http://adstil.indiatimes.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_mjx.ads/www.economictimes.com/Innovation/index.html/1076035122@Position1?"></SCRIPT><SCRIPT type=text/javascript> document.write(''); function OAS_AD(pos) { if (OAS_version >= 11 && typeof(OAS_RICH)!='undefined') OAS_RICH(pos); else OAS_NORMAL(pos); } </SCRIPT><SCRIPT type=text/javascript> OAS_AD('Position1'); </SCRIPT></TD></TR><TR><TD height=5></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left width="100%" colSpan=4>Assam to cull chicken to save poultry units</ARTTITLE>
5 Feb, 2008, 0608 hrs IST,Bikash Singh, <ARTAG>TNN
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GUWAHATI: While Assam?s poultry sector has taken a beating due to the outbreak of bird flu in neighbouring West Bengal, the state has decided to cull around 70,000 chickens. The ban on the entry of the poultry products from the neighbouring West Bengal has caused losses of around Rs 2 crore in the last 15 days. Assam imports over 20 truckloads of poultry eggs from Andhra Pradesh everyday and according to the traders, each truck of egg costs about Rs 5.5 lakh.

The All Assam Egg Merchants? Association (AAEMA) has demanded compensation from the state government to tide over the crisis. More than 2,500 and 4,000 chickens were culled from the interstate border in the two districts of Kokrajhar and Dhubri on Sunday and Monday, respectively. The initiative has been undertaken as part of a precautionary measure from the Union government. Already, 10 rapid response teams have been pressed into service in different places. Traders feel that the ban on entry of eggs was illogical as eggs are being imported from Andhra Pradesh, which is a bird flu-free state.

President of the AAEMA Nitai Ghosh said: ?No eggs are coming here from West Bengal while the Andhra Pradesh has already been declared flu-free state by the animal husbandry department. But without paying any heed to all these, government has banned import of eggs. As a result, the egg traders are at a loss. Bird flu in West Bengal has only been detected in the broiler chicken and the layer birds, which lay eggs, are free from the disease,? he said.

The association also demanded that the state government officials should investigate the reports by Andhra government declaring the state a bird-flu free state and resume the import of eggs from Andhra Pradesh.

?The experts at the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory, Bhopal, and Southern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory have already declared Andhra Pradesh flu free state. So we don?t see any reason banning eggs from the state,? the association felt.

Sources said the rate of compensation to be paid for each chicken culled is Rs 40 and Rs 10 for each chick, but the affected people are demanding immediate compensation. Assam needs about 35 lakh kg poultry feed annually, and bulk of this comes from outside the state as the production facility near Guwahati and Tezpur in Sonitpur district in the state is very small.

Assam to cull chicken to save poultry units

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Markets/Commodities/Assam_to_cull_chicken_to_save_poultry_units/articleshow/2757363.cms

While Assams poultry sector has taken a beating due to the outbreak of bird flu in neighbouring West Bengal, the state has decided to cull around 70,000 chickens.

**Snowy Owl** · February 5, 2008, 04:33 PM

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

Several Valley Areas Cut Off
GOWHAR BHAT

Srinagar, Feb 4:

The Kashmir Valley Monday received fresh snowfall throwing the normal life in several areas out of gear while bringing respite to the people from cold wave conditions.

The upper reaches of the valley, including the tourist resorts of Gulmarg, Sonamarg and Pahalgam received fresh snowfall while Srinagar city had intermittent snowfall.

Reports said several areas in Damhal Hanjipora belt of south Kashmir?s Kulgam district, which received over three feet snow, have been cut off from rest of the valley. They include the villages of Badi Jalan and Dandwar.

Although the district administration claimed to have cleared the snow from several roads in the area, more machines are being pressed into service to reach the isolated pockets. ?The clearance operations will begin tomorrow,? the deputy commissioner, Latif-uz-Zaman Deva, told Greater Kashmir this evening.

He said the Kapren Okay link road in the Shopian-Damhal Hanjipora belt, and Brimial Lamar road had been cleared. The link road to Waltengu Nar area too has been cleared of snow, he said.

Meanwhile, the temperature was normal at many places including Srinagar.

?The temperature has been recorded normal due to the heavy cloud cover,? the Assistant Director, Metereological Department, T K Joshi, said.
On Monday Srinagar recorded a minimum of zero degree Celsius, Qazigund 0.5, Pahalgam -4.4, Kupwara 3.5 and Islamabad -0.9.

The Met office has predicted more snow during the next few days. ?Heavy rains and snow is expected at many places in the Valley in the next couple of days and the temperature is expected to remain above normal,? Joshi said.

Weather remained unpredictable for the past few days in the valley with dry nights, morning snowfalls and warm afternoons.

People in Leh, Kargil, and Drass, the second coldest inhabited place in the world after Siberia, were beleaguered by the severe cold as dry and clear weather continued during the night.

Marwah and Wadwan areas of Kishtwar have reciorded about 10 feet snow.

The upper reaches of the Kashmir valley received heavy snowfall. Pahalgam, most attractive tourist destination in south Kashmir, witnessed a minimum temperature of -4.4 degrees Celsius, Joshi said, adding that Kulgam, in south Kashmir recorded minus 3.5 degrees this morning.
Batote and Banihal on the Srinagar-Jammu highway recorded minus 0.6 and minus 0.4 degrees respectively.

The night temperature in Drass was recorded at minus 19.5 while the maximum was minus 5.5 degrees. At Kargil the minimum was minus 14.5 and the maximum minus 3.5 degrees. The minimum at Leh was minus 20 degrees.

Meanwhile, the Srinagar-Jammu highway on Monday remained closed till afternoon following heavy snowfall near Jawahar tunnel, Banihal and Patnitop.

However the highway was partially opened in the late afternoon after the snowfall stopped and the stranded passenger vehicles were allowed to proceed towards their respective destinations.

A senior traffic police official said the vehicular movement was suspended after heavy snowfall near the Jawahar tunnel and landslides near Panthihal.

He added that the traffic was being allowed on the priority basis.

?Preference is being given to light motor vehicles and the load carriers carrying essential commodities,? Superintendent of Police (Highway), Dinesh Raina, told Greater Kashmir. No heavy vehicle was allowed to ply on the highway as a precautionary measure to avoid traffic jams, he added.

He said the highway would be open for two-way traffic on Tuesday. ?The snow has stopped and if the weather remains clear highway will remain open tomorrow,? he added.

Traffic on the highway had remained suspended on Sunday following landslides at Panthihal and heavy snowfall at Patnitop and Jawahar tunnel.
The Indian airlines flight to Leh was cancelled for two more days due to bad weather.

http://www.greaterkashmir.com/full_s...temID=55&cat=1

**Snowy Owl** · February 5, 2008, 04:45 PM

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

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="90%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=93 background=images/headhline.gif></TD><TD background=images/headhline.gif> </TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2> </TD></TR><TR align=left><TD>Farmers move HC seeking culling stay

Statesman News Service

BHUBANESWAR, Feb. 5:

The row over culling birds in a 5 km radius of Orissa-West Bengal border intensified today with the poultry and layer farmers? associations moving the High Court, seeking a stay and even the state fisheries and animal resource minister Mr Golak Nayak requesting chief minister Mr Naveen Patnaik to reconsider the decision.

Mr Nayak voiced grave concern and said people, particularly tribals of Mayurbhanj district, were shattered as it is a means of livelihood for them. They fell at my feet and pleaded with me not to allow killing of the birds, he said.

The minister pointed out that there were good local breeds in tribal areas and this gene pool will be lost if the birds within a 5 km radius are killed.

He said Orissa was not affected by the avian flu and it was due to cooperation of villagers that smuggling of birds from across the border has been checked.

People are vigilant and are cooperating with the government in every respect, be it vaccination or checking illegal smuggling of birds and poultry products. If we start culling operations people will lose faith and smuggling will take place, he said.

Several officers of the animal husbandry department were also opposed to the idea of culling.

What about the gene pool, the demand situation, they asked. They also said it was extremely difficult to maintain a no-bird zone for a minimum three month period.

It may be noted here that the state government had opposed the Center?s suggestion of culling till yesterday.

But it changed its stand late last night and announced culling operations would commence from 6 February.

Officials at Balasore and Mayurbhanj said preparations for culling were in place and they were awaiting formal directions from the government.

Rapid response teams are ready, they said.
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**HenryN** · February 5, 2008, 04:47 PM

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

Bird flu: Bengal bans poultry sale

Express news service
Posted online: Wednesday, February 06, 2008 at 0151 hrs IST
Kolkata, February 5
The West Bengal government on Tuesday announced a blanket ban on the sale and movement of poultry products in the state though it had recently said that the spread of the bird flu virus had been controlled. Government insiders say this is a precautionary measure to rein in the H5N1 virus further while others say the government already fears the virus might have spread to the remaining districts, other than the 14 officially declared as affected by avian influenza.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will demand Rs 75 crore from the Centre to tide over the losses from this outbreak when he meets Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in Delhi on Wednesday.
Defending the ban, government sources said the flu has certainly spread to other districts. It is a matter of time an alert is sounded in these districts as samples from here have already been sent to Bhopal for testing. Sources also said the ban is necessary because district administrations have not been able to prevent the sale of poultry in affected areas. Added to this is pressure from the Union ministry of Agriculture which is not happy the way the state has handled the crisis.
State?s Animal Resources Development Minister Anisur Rehman said, ?The sale, purchase and movement of chicken, ducks and eggs are banned indefinitely.
?This is necessary to control the outbreak and we don?t want to take any risks. The disease has affected almost all districts. Till today, 35 lakh birds have been culled. All affected in the trade of poultry will be compensated. We have also got Rs 5 crore from the Centre. We have demanded another Rs 75 crore more,? he added. Rehman said that a complete prohibition was necessary because area-specific bans had failed.
The government has asked all state agencies to raid markets and residential areas to check the sale of poultry, apart from alerting all to keep a strict vigil on areas. Health Minister Surya Kant Mishra said, ?We are taking all precautions to check the virus from being spread to human beings. Thirty lakh people in Bengal are under surveillance. Till now, all reports on human samples have been negative.?
The government has also drawn up a compensation package which will be forwarded to the Centre. It includes waiving loans of affected Self Help Groups (SHGs), issuing fresh loans to them after the outbreak is checked, paying each distressed family Rs 500 and financial help to all who make a living out of poultry.
Government reports on Tuesday show that culling continued in parts of South and North 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly and other districts recently afflicted with the virus.

Page not found | The Indian Express

http://www.indianexpress.com/printerFriendly/269738.html

**Snowy Owl** · February 5, 2008, 04:55 PM

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

Hi to all, I have to land here.

Direct order from the Congress in New Delhi state to make radical move in culling as seen in the few posts above.

What I can say is that a conclusion has been reach by consensus and has been adopted by the ruling central party (the Congress).

India is now in motion to cull as much as possible.

Publicly we can not stated that human had been infected, but if we refer to situation of other countries, human infection is not far ahead if not yet happened.

We must understand something about the Indian Culture, contagious diseases is a traumatic reminescences, evocation for the Indian cultures.

Another aspect of India, is that there are few provinces that are fully vegetarians and in some district of provinces there are no poultry or animals industry.

We expect an announcem,ent soon by the central gov after negotiations with the other parties.

IT IS NOT going H2h on a wider scale, from all contacts that I have in India.

Snowy

**Treyfish** · February 5, 2008, 06:52 PM

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

Maharashtra bans poultry from five states
Surendra Gangan
Wednesday, February 06, 2008 03:23 IST

MUMBAI: In the wake of the outbreak of bird flu in a few states recently, officials of the animal husbandry department have started destroying the truck loads of eggs that had come in other states. Though poultry produce from five states has been banned from entering into the state, the department has claimed that the state has sufficient poultry produce to meet its own demand.
The department has recently decided to ban poultry, eggs and feed that comes from Orrisa, Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar. Though nearly 40 per cent of the supply to Maharashtra is from Andhra Pradesh, the department has also has sought the government?s permission to include it in the list of banned states, too.
Animal husbandry minister Anees Ahmed said, ?Our department has so far destroyed a huge stock of eggs that were supplied at 20 paise per egg. We were apprehensive about the stock and thought it was appropriate to destroy it.? Though the minister did not have the statistics on the supply of poultry products from other states, he said despite the ban, poultry produce within the state was enough to cater to the needs of people in the state.
The minister clarified that there were no chances of a bird flu outbreak in the state. ?We have been sending sera samples from every taluka to the high-security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal from time to time. The reports so far have been negative,? he said.
?Nearly 8,000 animal husbandry officials and their 300 assistants will ensure that birds or eggs from other states are not brought into Maharashtra. The ban on the products will be on till the centre announces that the country is free from bird flu,? said an officer from the department.

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1149403

**Treyfish** · February 5, 2008, 06:59 PM

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

CPM leader joins feast
Kanchan Siddiqui
RANIGANJ, Feb. 4: Despite a ban on open trading and consumption of chicken in the bird flu affected districts, a small village near Raniganj witnessed a two-day mass chicken feast that was attended by local panchayat members and CPI-M cadres. When asked, the local BDO said: "We have more important business to do."
According to reports, a two-day religious festival ~ Gram Bandhna ~ which is believed to usher in good luck concluded today at Rupai Dhaora, a small village near the Raniganj colliery town that accommodates about 25 tribal families.
As part of the rituals, there was a mass killing of chicken in the open air. Mr Shibu Hembram, CPI-M leader and member of the local Jemeri Panchayat, was present at the mass killing of chickens. Mr Jyotilal Hembram, a veteran villager, said: "At least 30 chickens were butchered and the CPI-M leader supervised the arrangements sitting beside the priest." "Offering chickens is an essential part of Gram Bandhna and we sacrifice the birds in the name of our god who looks after our safety and well-being throughout the year," he added. Mr Sishu Majhi, the priest, said: "After the rituals the villagers were allowed to take the slaughtered birds for a mass feast."
Mr Hembram, who attended the feast, said: "What's wrong if I attended the feast? It is done for the well-being of the entire village and I am also a party to the festival." Asked about the government ban on chickens, he added: "That is for the town residents only. Moreover, our birds were free from any kind of disease." Rupai Dhaora falls within a 5 km-radius of flu affected areas in Raniganj. The BDO had ordered a ban on selling of chickens across Raniganj. Even then how could a village within the surveillance area organise a chicken feast that too in the presence of a CPI-M leader, asked another leader of the same party.

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.new...ss=1&id=189128

**HenryN** · February 5, 2008, 07:21 PM

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

AVIAN INFLUENZA, POULTRY VS MIGRATORY BIRDS (02): TURKEY, INDIA
************************************************** *************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

In this update:
[1], [2] Turkey: (Samsun)
[3] India: (Manipur), precautions

******
[1] Turkey: (Samsun)
Date: Mon 4 Feb 2008
Source: The New Anatolian (Ankara) [edited]
<http://www.thenewanatolian.com/tna-31051.html>

The Turkish Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Affairs said Sunday [3 Feb
2008] that bird flu was detected in Yorukler town in the Black Sea
province of Samsun. The virus was detected upon examination of samples
taken from poultry belonging to a local villager, the ministry said in
a written statement. "Laboratories of our ministry detected bird flu
in the samples. We have determined that the wild waterfowl in the
region are the source of the disease," the ministry said.

The ministry also said that the disease affected only a small area
and officials have taken all the necessary measures to halt the
spread of bird flu in the region.

Experts say Turkey, being on the route of migrating birds, is under
the threat of bird flu because of wildlife. The 1st bird flu case in
Turkey was detected in Bandirma town in 2005.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall

******
[2] Turkey: (Samsun)
Date: Sun 3 Feb 2008
Source: Reuters [edited]
<http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080203/sc_nm/turkey_birdflu_dc>

Turkey detected bird flu virus in dead chickens found late last month
[January 2008] in the northern part of the country after it had
started culling poultry due to bird flu suspicions, the Agriculture
Ministry said on Sunday [3 Feb 2008].

The culling was sparked after residents reported chicken deaths in a
district in the Samsun province in the northern Black Sea region.
"Bird flu disease was detected in the samples after examinations in
our ministry's laboratories," a statement from the ministry said. It
did not say whether the virus was the deadly H5N1 strain. The
statement said it was informed about the dead chickens on 28 Jan 2008
in Samsun province, on the Black Sea coast, and that studies showed
the virus was transmitted to farm chickens from wild birds. "In a
limited area covering farms of 8 families, 37 birds were culled for
prevention and culling has ended. There is nothing to worry about the
situation as all measures have been taken on this disease which was
detected in a very small area," the statement said. The area where
the virus was spotted remains under quarantine, it added.

Last month [January 2008], Turkey culled nearly 600 poultry in
villages in Zonguldak, another province on the Black Sea coast, after
an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu was identified.

Turkey lies on the migratory route for wild birds flying south from
Scandinavia and Siberia to north Africa for winter.

in 2006, 4 people in eastern Turkey died from bird flu after they came
into contact with sick birds. An outbreak of bird flu in the winter of
2006 hit Turkey's tourism industry and seriously damaged the poultry
sector.

[Byline: Selcuk Gokoluk, editing: Ibon Villelabeitia]

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

[A report of suspected disease was issued on 2 Feb 2008:
<http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080202/hl_afp/healthfluturkey>. - Mod MHJ

Samsun province in northern Turkey can be located on the
HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map at
<http://healthmap.org/promed?v=39.1,35.2,5>. - CopyEd.MJ]

******
[3] India: (Manipur), precautions
Date: Sun 3 Feb 2008
Source: Kangla Online, The Imphal Free Press report [edited]
<http://www.kanglaonline.com/index.php?template=headline&newsid=41023&typeid=1>

With a ban imposed on the import of poultry and poultry products from
outside [Manipur] state in view of the bird flu outbreak in West
Bengal, the Patsoi police today [3 Feb 2008] seized altogether 6120
chicks, which were being brought in from Assam along NH-53 this
afternoon.

According to reports, the chicks were meant to be delivered to a
named individual who runs a chicken meat shop at Kwakeithel bazar.
The chicks, packed in 120 baskets, were brought in from Assam, via
Jiribam on a Tata truck [which] was caught by the Patsoi police at
around 12:35 pm this afternoon [3 Feb 2008] at Keithelmanbi, on
NH-53. The entire load of chicks, along with the vehicle was later
handed over by the police to the veterinary department.

It may be mentioned, as a precautionary measure against the
possibility of spread of bird flu to the state, the state chief
secretary recently issued a notification asking all district DCs as
well as all police stations to maintain vigilance to prevent entry of
poultry and poultry products outside the state. However,
interestingly enough, the consignment of chicks was not intercepted
at Jiribam, where it should have been as per the chief secretary's
instructions. Veterinary department sources meanwhile affirmed that
the consignment of chicks has been handed over to the department by
the Patsoi police this afternoon [3 Feb 2008] at around 3:22 pm. The
chicks would be culled tomorrow [4 Feb 2008], the sources informed.

In view of the possibility of spread of bird flu again in the state,
the sources also appealed to poultry farmers and poultry traders to
stop importing poultry and poultry products from outside the state.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall

[This is posted to remind readers that birds migrate in other ways
than by flying, even if the apparently healthy chicks were being
moved from Assam into Imphal. Smuggling of birds and livestock is a
chronic problem in SE Asia and the Indian subcontinent. At this time
we have no reports of avian influenza in Assam. - Mod MHJ

The Indian States of Manipur, Assam, and West Bengal can be located
on the HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map at
<http://healthmap.org/promed?v=22.9,79.6,5>. - CopyEd.MJ]

[see also:
Avian influenza, poultry vs migratory birds: Turkey (Zonguldak) 20080126.0325
Avian influenza (21): Turkey (ZON), Ukraine (Crimea), OIE 20080123.0282
Avian influenza (20): Turkey, Egypt 20080122.0273
Avian influenza (23): India (West Bengal), Thailand (Phichit) 20080126.0328
Avian influenza (22): India (West Bengal) 20080123.0284
Avian influenza (19): India (West Bengal), Bangladesh 20080121.0260
Avian influenza (18): India (West Bengal), Iran (Mazandaran) 20080119.0245
Avian influenza (17): Iran (Mazandaran), India (West Bengal) - OIE
20080119.0235
Avian influenza (15): India (West Bengal), Iran (Mazandaran) 20080118.0224
Avian influenza (14): India (West Bengal) 20080117.0216
Avian influenza (11): India (West Bengal) 20080115.0193]
........................................mhj/mj/jw

**AlaskaDenise** · February 5, 2008, 08:40 PM

Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 24+

Originally posted by niman View Post

Comemntary at

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

Commentary

Precautionary Culling Begins in Jharkhand

Recombinomics Commentary 16:38
February 5, 2008

The Jharkhand government Tuesday ordered the culling of chickens in nine districts bordering the bird flu hit state of West Bengal.

Officials said the animal husbandry department of the state has issued the order to the district administrations of Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Seraikela and Kharsawa, Pakur, Sahebganj, Jamtara, Dumka, Bokaro and Dhanbad.

Nearly 200 chickens died in Angada block of Ranchi district about 15 days ago but officials are yet to confirm whether or not they fell prey to the avian influenza virus.

The above comments announce ?precautionary? culling in nine Jharkhand districts adjacent to West Bengal (see satellite map here and here). Jharkhand is among the regions in eastern India that has been sealed from the rest of the country. Although there are no official confirmations of H5N1 in birds, the lack of positives is firmly linked to the lack of testing. As noted above, test results on excessive poultry deaths near Ranchi have not been released. Moreover, the withheld data described above only represents poultry deaths that have been made public.

The likelihood that H5N1 infections have been limited to West Bengal is low. There have been numerous reports of wild birds dying near confirmed H5N1 outbreaks, and these infected birds are not likely to respect district borders.

In addition to not releasing the result of H5N1 tests the excessive poultry deaths in the Ranchi district, there have been no reports of confirmed H5N1 in the dead wild birds in India and the recent announcement of no human H5N1 cases in West Bengal is also likely false.

While West Bengal is announcing control of H5N1 spread, Bangladesh is announcing an explosion in confirmed cases, including dead crows which are dying by the hundreds or thousands.

Thus, the planned cull of 2 million birds in regions adjacent to West Bengal more accurately reflects H5N1 in the region, than the negative reports on birds in adjacent regions, or wild birds and humans throughout India.

.

Announcement

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

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

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