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Cows Fall Sick And Die In 12 Hours In West Bengal
(via Pandemic Flu Information Forum)The death of 17 cows since Saturday night triggered panic at some West Midnapore villages. With some backyard poultries falling prey to deadly H5N1 virus at a village in Debra block of the district, the villagers of Rajarbagan, Bisripat, Pathra, Hatihalka and Gobindopur are scared that now the avian influenza have affected their cattle. The samples have been sent for tests to a Kolkata laboratory. The district officials,however, feel that the cattle could have been affected by anthrax. The villagers got worried as several goats and hens were also found dead at the same time. "The cows fell sick and died within 12 hours. We could not even take them to the animal husbandry office for a check up. With the bird flu having spread to these parts, we are worried that the cattles could also get affected," said Umed Mallick, a resident of Hatihalka village. Himanshu Pradhan, the local livestock development officer said that the possibility of anthrax could not be ruled out. "The primary symptoms resemble that of anthrax. The serum and blood samples have been sent for tests," Pradhan said. Though the avian influenza strain is known to affect animals like pigs, there are so far no indications of the virus having affected any other animal. "Whenever we received information about any animals like goats having died in recent times, samples have been sent for tests. So far there is no indication to confirm that the avian influenza has been transmitted to any other animal," said Anisur Rahman, state animal resources development minister. Be it anthrax or bird flu, the villagers are a worried lot. "The government should do something for us," said Moinuddin Khan, a villager. Chicken and wild birds, then goats, then fish, and now cows. Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-01-28 |
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