Pigs People and Peacock Deaths in Uttar Pradesh India
Recombinomics Commentary
February 17, 2005
>> Hundreds of pigs are said to have died in the last 15 days after consuming what has been described as polluted garbage in several slums here. Piles of carcasses of the animals are rotting and there have been reports of dogs falling sick after consuming the flesh of the dead pigs.
As there has been no official explanation for the mass death of pigs, the pig owners, mostly Dalits [members of the Hindu caste also known as "untouchables"] engaged as cleaners with the Agra Municipal Corporation, have called it "Pig flu". <<
The unexplained pig deaths in the Uttar Pradesh region of India are cause for concern. The transmission to dogs eating the pigs is one red flag, but two more are the recent deaths of people and peacocks in the same region.
These unexplained deaths have an encephalitis component which has now been described for H5N1 avian influenza in Vietnam. The pigs have "viral fever", the children have encephalitis, and the peacocks have neurological symptoms like polio.
Bird flu can cause neurological problems in people and birds.
A mysterious illness in the three species in the same region is cause for concern.
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