Commentary
Confirmed
H5N1 Spread to Kurigram Bangladesh
Recombinomics Commentary
19:50
December 22, 2008
District livestocks official Nazrul Islam told bdnews24.com they would kill hens, ducks and pigeons and the eggs in every house in .
The above comments describe a confirmed H5N1 outbreak in Kurigram, Bangladesh. Kurigram is in the northeast tip of Bangladesh, so it is only 10-15 miles from the borders of Cooch Behar, Assam, and Meghalaya (see zoomed map). This outbreak comes days after the outbreak in Natore, and suggests H5N1 is widespread in Bangladesh, Assam, West Bengal, and neighboring districts.
Bangladesh was able to confirm the H5N1 on the same day as the collection, in marked contrast to India, which collects samples or carcasses and sends them to Bhopal for a series of tests. The delay in testing in India has cast serious doubts about negative test results and announcements of control and lack of reports of excessive poultry deaths.
Some media reports are even claiming that the confirmed cases in Assam are not really H5N1, even though the confirming letters are posted on the government website.
The large number of confirmed outbreaks in Bangladesh, Assam, and West Bengal (see updated map) suggest more confirmations will be reported in the near term.
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