Dead Crows Cause Panic in Chittagong Bangladesh
Recombinomics Commentary 13:25
February 3, 2008
The port city of Chittagong was put on high alert to combat bird flu after some dead crows tested positive.
100 dead crows were found at CSD Food Godown at Dewanhat Mansurabad area under Double Mooring Police Station
several hundred crows were found dead in a pond in the city’s Agrabad area during the last week
The above comments come from various media reports on the dead crows in the Bangladesh port city of Chittagong. Although government reports indicate no H5N1 has been found in poultry in the city, the H5N1 positive crows have caused panic in the residents (see satellite maps here and here).
The dead crows are serving as canaries in the coal mine, signifying significant problems in the area. Bangladesh has confirmed H5N1 in crows in multiple locations from the port city in the south, to Dinajpur in the north, where they were literally falling from trees.
Dead crows have also been H5N1 confirmed in Pakistan, and are found in association with H5N1 confirmed poultry in India, although India has yet to confirm that the dead wild birds, including crows, are H5N1 positive.
The repeated reports of dead crows in the region highlight the difficulties in control H5N1 spread by sealing borders. The crows signal infections in other wild birds, including migratory birds, which also have never been confirmed in India.
The residents in Chittagong understand the danger associated with the dead crows, even if poultry in the city has not tested positives.
The dramatic spread of H5N1 in Bangaldesh, India, and Pakistan remain a cause for concern, government lab tests notwithstanding.
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