Dead Crows Cause Panic in Calcutta
Recombinomics Commentary 22:02
February 23, 2008
On Saturday, the residents of Chetla were shocked to see dead crows lying all around. While most of them were already dead, some died later.
"I saw the birds drooling and flapping their wings before collapsing," a local said. Soon crows started falling down from the trees.
"Crows are carriers of bird flu but rarely die because of it. However, we might send the samples to Bhopal for confirmation," state animal resources development minister, Anisur Rehman said.
The above comments on dead crows falling from trees sound remarkably similar to reports in multiple cities in Bangladesh, where H5N1 has been confirmed in dead crows. There are also a number of public H5N1 sequences from crows in Asia and Africa, including clade 2.2, which has been reported in India and Pakistan.
Chelta is in the heart of Calcutta (see satellite maps here here here) and positive birds would serious damage claims of control in West Bengal.
The above statement about crows rarely dying from H5N1 is false, although India has yet to report H5N1 in any wild birds, including dead crows collected in areas where H5N1 has been confirmed in poultry.
The reasons behind the denials of H5N1 in wild birds are unclear, but India's track record is not.
H5N1 is in crows in India and Bangladesh, official comments or reports from India notwithstanding.
The H5N1 in wild birds in the region also cast serious doubt about claims that H5N1 infections in India has been limited to West Bengal, or claims of elimination of H5N1 from West Bengal.
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