H5N1 Confirmed Crows Cause Pandemic Concerns
Recombinomics Commentary 12:47
February 6, 2008
Dozens of dead crows found over the past two days in Dhaka have tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu.
In Chittagong, officials confirmed the spread of bird flu in several farms and also in crows that tested positive for the strain.
Meanwhile our Rajshahi correspondent reports that hundreds of crows have been dying in the city without any apparent cause.
About a hundred crows were found dead just outside the Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) compound on Sunday. Locals fear that the birds might have died of bird flu infection.
The above comments described recent crow deaths in multiple locations in Bangladesh. The crows in Dhaka, that caused panic yesterday, have been confirmed. In Chittagong, the crows were confirmed yesterday, but now H5N1 has been confirmed in nearby farms. The dead crows in Rajshahi are on the border with West Bengal (see satellite map here and here).
Earlier reports had also described H5N1 positive crows in additional regions in Bangladesh, including over a thousand in Danajpur in Rajshani, which is also near the West Bengal border.
The dead crows highlight difficulties in controlling the spread of H5N1, since they can fly across sealed borders and spread H5N1 into adjacent regions. They also signal H5N1 in the region, as seen in the Chittagong metropolitan area.
Although the crows have been confirmed in multiple areas of Bangladesh, including regions bordering West Bengal, India has yet to confirm H5N1 in any of the dead wild and migratory birds found in association with confirmed H5N1 in poultry.
The widespread H5N1 in poultry and wild birds, including major urban areas, remain causes for concern.
Media Links
Recombinomics Presentations
Recombinomics Publications
Recombinomics Paper at Nature Precedings