January 15, 2008

Preliminary report confirms H5N1 bird flu in India's West Bengal

Authorities in India's West Bengal are scrambling to put in place security measures after a preliminary report confirmed H5N1 bird flu in the state, according to  a veterinary officer in the state. 

Rampurhat Block Medical Officer Abhijit Roychoudhury told India Express that primary screening has identified the H5N1 virus.

Medical teams are on standby while Tamiflu drugs have been delivered to the area. Should the Union Government classify the area as H5N1-infected, further measures will be implemented.

Villagers in the affected Margram area in the Birbhum district have feasted on dead birds, unaware why their poultry was dying, the paper reported.

An Agriculture Ministry official in New Delhi today said the preliminary report is confirmatory on bird flu and an outbreak will be declared  once the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal identifies the strain.

Birbhum and South Dinajpur districts have reported large number of poultry deaths with Rampurhat II in Birbhum reporting 10,800 dead out of 15,000 affected and South Dinajpur reporting 2,964 birds affected, the paper quoted an official as saying.

One state-run poultry farm in South Dinajpur reported 230 deaths out of 247 affected, the official added.

Officials had collected samples from from Rampurhat Block II on January 8 and sent them to Bhopal for testing. Last evening, the Bhopal laboratory confirmed the presence of a virus though it said more tests needed to be done to confirm if it was the deadly H5N1 strain.

An estimated 15,000 birds have perished in Rampurhat since December 29, but no steps were taken to contain the spread of the virus Commercial poultry farms in the area have not been affected although among backyard farmers the virus is said to be widespread.