Commentary
Likely
H5N1
Spread to South Sikkim India
Recombinomics Commentary
20:05
January 16, 2009
Official sources here said the chickens had died in three areas of Ravangla and its adjoining areas. The first death of chickens was reported on January 14 after which State Animal Husbandry officials had taken the samples to Bhopal as the cause of the deaths.
The above comments describe the likely spread of H5N1 South Sikkim (see updated map). Today Nepal confirmed H5N1 near its borders with West Benal and Bihar. H5N1 has also been confirmed in multiple areas of Darjeeling, including the Darjeeling Hlls which are just south of Sikkim.
H5N1 in Sikkim would not be a surprise. The outbreaks in Suliguri are surrounded nature reserves and wild animal sanctuaries, and birds migrate to the south as the temperature drops.
Testing in India however remains suspect. H5N1 has been reported in or around Qinghai Lake in China in every year since 2005, and birds from Qinghai Lake spend the winter in northern India, yet India has never reported H5n1 in a wild bird.
The outbreak in Nepal, which was confirmed in England, raised concerns about H5N1 surveillance in the area due to minimal testing of tissues in dead or dying birds, and throat swabs in at risk individuals.
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