Article

2008-01-28 Science & Technology

Cows Fall Sick And Die In 12 Hours In West Bengal

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Posted by Anonymoose 2008-01-28 00:00|| || Front Page|| [5 views ] Top

#1 Poultry products are still moving from area to area within Bengal. The Communist Party cadres ignore the health inspectors.

Posted by john frum 2008-01-28 05:36|| 2008-01-28 05:36|| Front Page Top

#2 Veterinary staff in West Bengal are capturing chickens in night-time raids on the backyards of homes to surprise villagers unwilling to part with their poultry as an outbreak of bird flu spread.

Meanwhile, the United Sates has told the Indian authorities that they are ready to help them with all kind of assistance to tackle the bird flu menace.

Bird flu has spread to 13 of West Bengal's 19 districts, with samples of dead chickens testing positive in two new districts, officials said on Monday.

Experts fear the H5N1 strain could mutate into a form easily transmitted from person to person, leading to a pandemic, but there have been no reported human infections in India yet.

"It is very difficult to contain the virus among backyard poultry as villagers hide their chickens and even smuggle it to homes of distant relatives," said Anisur Rahaman, WBs Animal Resources Minister.

Officials said they were worried about the disease spreading to the crowded state capital, Kolkata, after bird flu hit the South 24 Parganas district on Sunday, only 20 km away from the city.

Surveillance was in place to stop infected poultry from being smuggled into one of India's biggest cities, they said.

Authorities also used loudspeakers and distributed leaflets in villages, urging people to hand over poultry to culling teams.

Villagers say government compensation of a dollar a bird was not enough.

"It's not just money, it is such a sentimental issue as villagers keep ducks and chickens as pets and also have different names to call them," Nazrul Islam of the West Bengal Poultry Association said.

West Bengal has promised to pay more money to villagers, admitting the virus could spread further if birds were not culled quickly.

The World Health Organisation has said it is India's most serious outbreak of bird flu.

Over 1.5 million birds have already been culled since the deadly H5N1 virus hit the state earlier this month.

Another half a million chickens and ducks will be slaughtered in the next few days, officials said.

The government says laboratory tests have confirmed the H5N1 strain in at least two of West Bengal's 19 districts, but said reports from 11 other districts were likely to be the same.

Authorities said the virus could have come from neighbouring Bangladesh, also struggling to contain an outbreak of bird flu.

Most countries and all Indian states have banned poultry products from West Bengal.

Posted by john frum 2008-01-28 05:57|| 2008-01-28 05:57|| Front Page Top

#3 Pets are very problematic. The disease is known to attack both dogs and cats, which threaten to become a major vector in the west, by people who cannot abide to part with their beloved animals.

Posted by Anonymoose 2008-01-28 07:54|| 2008-01-28 07:54|| Front Page Top

#4 Bengali's are some of the most brainless of the primitive tribal/village folks in India. Everyone of them I have encountered or interacted with could not have an IQ higher than 55 or 60.

They're fiercely protective of their own belongings, but will steal you blind, believing that if they can steal it, they deserve it.

Scum...every last one of them. Other Indian ethnic groups call them bongs. Never could get a good answer as to why.

Posted by Caesar Whaiger6641 2008-01-28 10:43|| 2008-01-28 10:43|| Front Page Top

#5 Sounds like Anthrax, which is not as rare as you might think:
"As of August 10, 2006, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has reported 644 dead animals on 136 farms in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, most of these cattle."
http://microbiology.suite101.com/article.cfm/anthrax_and_cattle

Posted by Darrell 2008-01-28 11:13|| 2008-01-28 11:13|| Front Page Top

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