AI IN WEST BENGAL - SITREP FOR JANUARY 18.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KOLKATA 000023

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT PLS PASS TO CDC-NCOX, SBLOUNT AND TO HHS-STEIGER, HICKEY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KFLU TBIO EAGR SENV PGOV CASC IN KHIV
SUBJECT: AI IN WEST BENGAL - SITREP FOR JANUARY 18.

REF: KOLKATA 14, KOLKATA 17, KOLKATA 19

KOLKATA 00000023 001.2 OF 002



1. (SBU) Summary: Econ FSN traveled on January 18 to Margram in
Birbhum district. As of the morning of January 18, approximately
24,852 birds had been culled in the districts of Birbhum and S.
Dinajpur. Culling operations are slow because the villages and
farms are spread out over a large distance, and because
villagers remain mistrustful about getting compensation. GOWB
Control Room officials told Post that there have been no
reported cases of bird flu-like symptoms among humans so far.
The state government is still waiting for the test results of
the samples taken from the Murshidabad, Burdwan, Nadia and South
24 Parganas districts, but has begun culling operations in
Murshidabad. State officials have started inspecting Kolkata's
poultry farms and issuing information leaflets about AI. End
Summary.


2. (SBU) Econ FSN traveled on January 18 to Margram in Birbhum
district. He witnessed culling operations, but reported that
chicken and ducks from backyard poultry farms were freely
roaming the streets. The culling carried out by 58 Rapid
Response Teams (RRTs) in Birbhum and 26 RRTs in South Dinajpur
district is proceeding at a slow pace due to a reluctance of
poultry owners to give up their birds. The poultry farms in the
affected areas are spread out over a wide area, and are the only
means of livelihood for a majority of the villagers. Many fear
that the compensation promised by the state government will take
months to reach them, if it does reach them at all. Cullers are
handing over official compensation receipts to the poultry
owners which the latter will have to exchange for cash from the
local village office within the next three months. Some poultry
owners felt that if they had been given immediate cash
compensation resistance to the culling operations would have
been less severe. Post reported previously that cash had been
sent to the local village offices in the affected districts.
Poultry farmers told Econ FSN that those with connections to the
political leaders would be paid first and that some feared not
being compensated at all.


3. (SBU) In Margram, culling operations were delayed by over
three hours after government health workers, affiliated with the
ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) employees'
union, staged a protest alleging that policemen had assaulted
one of their leaders. Later in the day the workers withdrew
their protest and culling resumed. Econ FSN also found that
there is a general lack of awareness about avian influenza and
the methods by which the disease spread. Culling sites are not
cordoned off, and anyone can approach the areas where the birds
are being culled. Econ FSN witnessed crowds of people standing
and watching the culling operations.


4. (SBU) As mentioned reftels, besides Birbhum and South
Dinajpur, over the past two days unusual poultry deaths have
been reported in Murshidabad, Burdwan, Nadia and South 24
Parganas districts. The samples taken from dead birds in these
areas have been sent to the High Security Animal Disease
Laboratory (HSADL) in Bhopal and the National Institute of
Virology in Pune. Test results are expected within a couple of
days.


5. (SBU) In Kolkata, the poultry market is witnessing a gradual
drop in poultry purchases. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation
has formed seven surveillance teams, each headed by a veterinary
officer, to inspect all poultry markets in the city for signs of
avian influenza among the birds. According to Chief Municipal
Health Officer of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Deb
Dwaipayan Chattopadhyay, 25,000 chicken samples from various
retail markets across the city have been checked and no
suspected cases of bird flu have been found. Information
leaflets on bird flu have been printed in Bengali, Hindi and
English and have been sent to borough offices in the city for
distribution to raise awareness about the disease and to prevent
the spread of panic among the citizens. CM Bhattacharjee
commented that the situation was "alarming" and repeated the
information carried in newspapers about affected districts.


6. (SBU) In neighboring Jharkhand state, some unusual poultry
deaths were reported by the media on January 17. The Animal
Husbandry Department (AHD) of Jharkhand informed Post that about
20-22 chickens died in Pakur district of the state which borders
West Bengal's Birbhum district. The joint director of
Jharkhand's AHD said that AHD's investigating team found the
dead chickens in scattered areas as there are no poultry farms
in Pakur. The team collected samples from the dead birds and is
sending it to Bhopal for testing. So far no confirmation of
bird flu has been reported from Jharkhand. The Jharkhand
government officials in Ranchi are reportedly in regular contact
with the district magistrates of districts bordering West Bengal

KOLKATA 00000023 002.2 OF 002


and are on the look out for any unusual incidents of mortality
among birds.
JARDINE