Bird Flu Returns to India
07th April 2008
According to reports, a new outbreak of bird flu has been found in poultry in Tripura, India. Around 3,000 birds were reportedly found dead of the illness and the authorities are struggling to contain the virus. The outbreak was discovered after samples of the dead birds were sent off for testing to the Animal Diseases Diagnostic Laboratory in Bhopal earlier this month. The results of the tests came back positive, which has prompted much concern from veterinary officials.
In an attempt to stop the spread of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, state officials have now ordered the culling of 20,000 chickens and ducks in around 20 villages in the Dhalai district of Tripura, which borders Bangladesh. Ashis Roy Burman, director of Tripura's Animal Resources Development Department, discussed the outbreak with reporters. He said: “It is bird flu and the final report is expected tomorrow. The virus must have spread from Bangladesh.”
So far, no human infection has been reported, but health experts said that people suffering from flu-like symptoms should come forward.
This is not the first time that bird flu has hit India; the country reported its first case in the western state of Maharashtra in 2006. Earlier this year, West Bengal was also struck by avian influenza and around four million birds were killed in order to try and stop the virus spreading further. The World Health Organisation described the outbreak in West Bengal as the worst epidemic of bird flu ever to hit India. Despite the outbreak in West Bengal being briefly contained, it has intermittently resurfaced.
As a result of the bird flu epidemic in West Bengal, poultry sales in the country have dropped by around 70 per cent and traders in the area have been struggling as a result.