Bird flu strikes back in West Bengal

A fresh bird flu outbreak has set off the West Bengal state administration on its toes to take immediate preventive measures in the concerning districts of Murshidabad. Department of animal husbandry has yet again started a culling process to destroy infected poultry.

According to the report of the Minister for Animal Resources Development, death of cheeks were reported in two blocks of the Murshidabad district of which blood samples tested positive showing the virus signs of avian flu.

The minister Anisur Rehman had later confirmed the presence of H5N1 virus after the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal tested it positive.

The authority in a three-day culling process starting from Monday has assessed to cull around 50,000 birds. The sale and consumption of poultry has also been banned in the affected zones.

The latest report accounts 1,000 deaths of chickens in the Raghunathganj and Muridabad-Jiyaganj blocks over the period of last one week.

Since then the surrounding regions are on tight vigil. Bird flu culling officials blames locals for hiding infected poultry during the January culling, which results the recent outbreak.

Earlier this year in one of the most widely spread avian influenza in the month of January the West Bengal government had to kill approximately 3.9 million chickens and ducks in half of its districts.

Ban was also imposed on its import and export but was later removed considering some positive developments but now the administration is again keeping a close eye on the situation.

FAO Warning

Earlier this month, the UN agency for Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) had also warned Indian government that the dreaded diseases might reoccur again.

In its report, the agency had asked the government to take precautionary measures in high-risk areas. It has also invited India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar to involve in a regional cooperation for a better coordination to control on fatal avian-influenza.

However during the January outbreak no human case was confirmed though. According to World Health Organisation (WHO) report the deadly H5N1 virus have killed at least 235 people world-wide.

Again as per the recent scientific research Avian flu does not pose a great threat to humans but some experts fear that the virus could mutate and develop into a fatal human flu epidemic.