India: Bird Flu Outbreak Continuing to Spread

India is battling the country’s worst ever outbreak of bird flu. According to the World Health Organization, this is the third outbreak in India since 2006, but by far the most widespread. The disease has now spread to six districts in West Bengal state, with Bankura district being the latest addition.

West Bengal’s animal resources minister, Anisur Rahman said there were fears the disease could be spreading further afield in the state, with suspect poultry spotted in the hill resort of Darjeeling on the border with Nepal, and in several villages in Coochbehar. West Bengal state borders Bangladesh, which is also fighting a bird flu outbreak.

Authorities said they needed to step up the slaughter of chickens and ducks to beat a spread in the virus. “We have to cull more chickens and ducks as the disease has spread to new districts. A total of nearly 700,000 poultry would have to be culled in six districts in the next seven days,” said Rahman. “There is no shortage of volunteers or personnel to cull the birds and no other birds or animals have been affected by the infection,” he added.

Villagers initially resisted attempts to destroy the poultry, and were continuing to eat chickens killed by the disease. “Most villagers are not aware of the disease. They are eating the dead chickens. Their children are playing with the infected chickens on the courtyards. It’s horrible,” Rahman said.

Residents also opposed the slaughter of their birds because of a “problem regarding the mode of compensation,” said Rahman. The government has paid more than 40 million rupees (or one million dollars) as compensation to the villagers affected by the culling operations, he said.

In most cases, the livelihood of the farmers depends on poultry. According to Venky’s Ltd., the country’s largest supplier of poultry products, West Bengal consumes an average of 13.7 million eggs and about 900,000 birds daily.

The disease is usually transmitted to humans through direct contact with infected poultry. According to the World Health Organization, more than three of every five human cases have been fatal. “There are chances of humans being infected,” said Mumbai-based Department of Virology’s Ranjana Deshmukh. “If say, 100 people get infected, at least between 70 and 80 will die of pulmonary pneumonia. The government should take preventative measures such as keeping farmers away from the dead birds and raising awareness.”

The New England Journal of Medicine reports that early signs of the disease range from fever and cough to diarrhea and vomiting.

Rahman said, “All precautionary measures have been taken.” He said the government has stocked hospitals with drugs, and health workers are raising public awareness of the possibility of infection from handling dead or sick poultry.

So far, no human cases in India have been recorded from the H5N1 strain, but experts fear it may mutate into a form easily spread between humans, sparking a global pandemic. “I hope that situation won’t arise,” said Rahman.

Since 2003, the number of human cases worldwide has grown to 350, which includes the two women who died from H5N1 in the past two weeks in Indonesia.