Dead Goats in Murshidabad West Bengal Cause Concern
Recombinomics Commentary 05:01
January 26, 2008
Reports of hundreds of goats dying have also come in from Murshidabad's Khargram and Beldanga areas.
The above comments indicate that hundreds of goats are dying in Murshidabad, in addition to the goats dying in Birbhum (see satellite map). Murshidabad is the location of the cullers initially said to have had pneumonia. Similarly, cullers in Birbhum were "unfit" to work.
The matching in time and location of cullers and goats with bird flu symptoms is cause for concern. As seen in the above map, both areas have a high concentration of confirmed H5N1 cases in poultry and wild birds.
Although H5N1 has not been reported to infect goats, the broad host range seen to date suggests that goats could also serve as host. H5N1 has been found in dozens of wild and domestic bird species, as well as a host of mammalian species, including humans, swine, wild and domestic cats, dogs, foxes, stone marten, civet cats, and mice.
The subclade circulating in the area seems to be particularly lethal to wild birds in West Bengal and Bangladesh, with numerous reports of dead crows, hawks, owls, and pigeons as well as migratory birds dying in significant numbers. Therefore, fatal infections in goats would not be a surprise, but would represent a significant broadening of the H5N1 host range.
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