AI IN W. BENGAL - SITREP 18: CLEAN UP CONTINUES

UNCLAS KOLKATA 000049 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT PLS PASS HHS - STEIGER AND HICKEY AND CDC - COX AND BLOUNT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KFLU TBIO EAGR SENV PGOV ECON CASC AMED IN SUBJECT: AI IN W. BENGAL - SITREP 18: CLEAN UP CONTINUES REF: KOLKATA 46 AND PREVIOUS ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: Mopping up and disinfection operations continue in the flu affected districts of West Bengal. According to latest available figures as of February 7 3,593,008 birds have been culled, exceeding the projected target of 3,125,620 in 16 districts of West Bengal. Media reports sales of chicken and eggs at a few markets in Kolkata despite the complete ban on poultry trade. Of the 28 human samples sent for testing from West Bengal, 27 have tested negative for H5NI. The test result of one sample from South 24 Parganas is pending. Culling operations in Bihar and Assam are taking place in accordance with the federal government directive, but Jharkhand and Orissa are yet to comply fully with the order. END SUMMARY ¶2. (U) On February 7, the W. Bengal Animal Resources Department (ARD) again announced that no further areas in West Bengal have been declared infected and that clean-up and disinfecting operations were in progress in AI-affected districts. Media reported sales of chicken and eggs at inflated prices in some of the markets in Kolkata in violation of the statewide ban on poultry trade. The Hindustan Times reported that at least eight people were injured in a clash at Chunakhali village in South 24 Parganas triggered by an incident where a poultry farm owner tried to sell chicken at a steep price and the locals protested and complained to the local village council. According to the article, the incident turned violent because the poultry farm owner and the protesters were allied with rival political parties. The police intervened to bring the situation under control. ¶3. (U) In Assam, 26 Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) in Dhubri and 17 RRTs in Kokrajhar district have culled over 40,000 birds through February 7. The target is approximately 80,000 birds in these two districts, which are located within the five kilometer radius of the Assam-Bengal border. The culling operations are expected to be completed by February 10. According to media reports, the Assam ARD has so far collected 434 serum samples and 184 cloacal samples from Dhubri and Kokrajhar districts. These samples will be sent to the Bhopal High-risk Security Disease Laboratory on February 8. ¶4. (U) In Bihar, over 12,000 birds have been culled through February 7 in Katihar, Kishanganj and Purnia districts since preventive culling operations began on February 5. Bihar ARD Director B Chandrashekhar Prasad informed Post that 8262 birds had been culled in Katihar alone, where he is overseeing the operations. Culling of poultry is also taking place in 11 blocks of Kishanganj, five in Katihar and three in Purnia. ¶5. (U) In Orissa, poultry farmers associations filed a petition in the Cuttack High Court on February 7 challenging the Orissa government decision to cull poultry in Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts. The Orissa government had announced on February 6 that it would cull nearly a million poultry birds up to five km from its border with West Bengal as per the federal government's directive. There is no confirmation on whether culling operations will begin soon or not as the state Animal Resources Department Director Bishnupada Sethy was not available for comment. According to news reports, Fisheries and Animal Resource Development Secretary Hrushikesh Panda has gone on leave as he was unhappy with the government's decision to cull "healthy" birds. ¶6. (U) No preventive culling has been reported from Jharkhand so far. Jharkhand's ARD Joint Director Choudhary told Post that he had received information from the deputy commissioners of Ranchi, East Singhbhum, Seraikela, Kharsawan, Dumka, Sahebganj and Dhanbad that there are no "high risk areas" within their districts and therefore there would be no culling of birds in these places. He said that he is waiting to hear from the district administration of Pakur and Jamtara, and if they report any high risk areas within their districts, culling operations would commence immediately. Choudhary also said that so far, none of the bird samples sent to Bhopal for testing had shown positive results for the H5N1 virus. JARDINE