| Font Size - |
| Related Articles |
 |
Bird flu has spread to nine of West Bengal's 19 districts and there were reports of more bird deaths in another five districts in the state of 80 million people.
"The virus is most likely to spread to other areas within the infected zones and nearby districts, but we are now trying to stop it from hitting Kolkata," said Surjya Kanta Mishra, WB’s Health Minister.
The H5N1 bird flu virus has been confirmed in two districts so far. Authorities have not confirmed H5N1 in other districts but say it is likely to be the same strain.
The World Health Organization has said it was India's most serious outbreak since the strain was first detected in the country in 2006.
Thailand said on Thursday the strain was confirmed in poultry in a northern province, while Bangladesh has been struggling to contain an outbreak that has affected more than two dozen districts. West Bengal borders Bangladesh.
The H5N1 virus has also resurfaced in Europe, while earlier this week an Indonesian man tested positive for the virus. Nearly 100 people have died of bird flu in Indonesia.
Scientists fear the strain could mutate into a form easily transmitted from person to person, leading to a pandemic that could kill millions around the globe.
Authorities found avian influenza in dead bird samples from Hooghly district, a little more than an hour's drive from the crowded West Bengal capital, Kolkata.
More than five million people live in Kolkata, a city dotted with rows of large houses, crumbling colonial buildings, glittering glass offices and congested slums.
Hundreds of health officials searched markets in the city's narrow lanes, looking for sick birds smuggled in from infected districts. Health officials were also checking birds at the biggest poultry farm in the state near Kolkata.
Strict Surveillance
"A strict surveillance has been put in place and we are checking every single truck coming into the city," said Anisur Rahaman, the state's animal resources minister. "We are making every effort to save the city from the virus."
West Bengal is ruled by the world's longest-serving democratically elected communist government and it is facing huge criticism from the opposition and the central government for a slow response to the outbreak.
Authorities in the neighbouring state of Bihar said on Wednesday they will cull chickens along its border with West Bengal as a precaution.
Authorities on Wednesday intercepted a truck carrying 10,000 chicks in West Bengal's Birbhum district, the epicentre of the latest outbreak of bird flu in India. The truck was apparently trying to leave the state. Officials buried the chicks alive in a ditch, villagers said.
Authorities say is difficult to contain the outbreak in West Bengal because the virus has affected mostly backyard poultry, reared in the thousands by villagers all over the state.
Villagers are unwilling to part with their flocks and are hiding chickens and ducks inside homes, saying they were the only source of income. Authorities, though, are paying compensation of up to Rs 40 for each culled bird.
commies claim superior discipline, and swear alongside cheen and rassia as the master race which we should copy. they need to PROVE prove prove that their discipline shows up in how they handle their small farmers in controlling the unthinkable. Are the commies listening or sleeping or on phone !
At least human flu is seasonal with high rates of transmission at low temperature. Bird flu could have a same pattern, and if true, seasonal population and climatic control may be a worthwhile strategy to control bird flu. Anyway, the birds will not be getting flu shots.It is high time that politicians stop wasting time on wasteful schemes and topics to earn more votes, and care about the survival of poor poultry farmers who are a test case for such kind of national survival challenges.
Personal greed is known to cause decline of great civilisations and kingdoms. One has to weigh such greed against the threat of catastrophic downfall. Greed and necessity are sometimes interchangeable in poor and rural societies. An order to cull the birds will not work in an indisciplined and corrupt country like India, and such stupid course can cause catastrophic damage. What is needed is an intensive educational campaign directed toward the poultry farmers to drastically reduce the number of birds whereever they are held in concentrations. This could be done by immediate subsidised sale of apparently healthy looking birds, and ensuring that they are cooked well. This will prevent a major epidemic and chance for the virus to propogate. It needs to be done not only in West Bengal, but also in adjoining states, and perhaps all over India to be on safer side. Once the threat of bird flu subsides, the poultry farmers may be allowed to raise the number and concentration of birds. This way even if their incomes suffer, they will still have a low maintenance level and would not have to buy birds later to fill their stocks.
Thats true.
People of West Bengal: Here is the gift from your beloved govt. After no growth for 15~20 years, no development relative to other parts of the country, murder of people to built cars, this is the icing on the cake. I guess you reap what you sow. I feel sorry for all the effected people but cannot expect any thing else from the commies.
| Most Read Articles |
|