H5N1 Confirmed in More Calcutta Suburbs
Recombinomics Commentary 13:38
January 27, 2008
West Midnapore district magistrate N S Nigam said samples of chicken sent from Chakbelcha village in Debra block of Kharagpur subdivision had tested positive.
In South 24 Parganas, the disease tested positive in Budge Budge, district magistrate Sanghamitra Ghosh said.
In the affected district of Howrah, Avian Flu spread to Panchla in addition to Sankrail and with the detection of fresh cases in another block, barely 10 km from here, steps are being taken to keep Kolkata insulated from the disease.
The above comments describe confirmed H5N1 in two additional districts of West Bengal, raising the total to 13 of 19. Moreover, two of the confirmed areas are in Calcutta suburbs (see satellite map) increasing the likelihood that the excessive deaths of poultry, wild domestic birds, and migratory birds in the region are also positive.
Thus, although Calcutta has been sealed, H5N1 is almost certainly already in the city, since the above positives are on samples collected days ago.
Managing H5N1 in the densely populated city will be a challenge, so H5N1 can easily fly into the region.
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