Likely H5N1 in South-24 Parganas West Bengal
Recombinomics Commentary 16:30
January 21, 2008
In Bhangar alone more than 700 chickens have died over the past few days generating bird flu scare. In Diamond Harbour almost 400 chickens have died, while in Baruipur and Sonarpur the number of deaths stands at 400 and 200. Almost 60 chicken deaths have been reported from Sarisha. These deaths have prompted the district administration to issue an alert. A ban on chicken trade has already been issued in the affected areas, district health officials said.
The above comments describe poultry deaths in South-24 Parganas (see satellite map). Although H5N1 has not been confirmed in this district, the steady increase in poultry deaths in multiple locations leaves little doubt that H5N1 has spread to the southern coast of West Bengal.
The lack of confirmation is due to slow testing in Bhopal. The number of samples tested per day is low, and the delays in confirmation are creating an artificial picture of the spread of H5N1. Bird deaths indicate H5N1 has spread across West Bengal, and now suspect human cases are being reported in two districts with confirmed H5N1 in poultry, Murshidabad, with five suspect cullers and Nadia with one suspect fatality.
The number of birds to be culled has been raised to 2 million, which will increase more when additional tests are completed.
The suspect H5N1 cases raise serious pandemic concerns.
Media Links
Recombinomics Presentations
Recombinomics Publications
Recombinomics Paper at Nature Precedings