AVIAN INFLUENZA "REAPPEARS" IN WEST BENGAL

UNCLAS KOLKATA 000084 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT PLS PASS HHS, CDC, AND APHIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KFLU EAGR TBIO ECON PGOV CASC AMED SENV IN SUBJECT: AVIAN INFLUENZA "REAPPEARS" IN WEST BENGAL REF: KOLKATA 69, KOLKATA 54 ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: Late in the day on March 8, authorities confirmed a suspected H5N1 outbreak in 41 villages in West Bengal's Murshidabad district. In the neighboring district of Birbhum, there are now reports of over 1,000 bird deaths occurring in the last week. On March 10, the GOWB deployed 40 Rapid Response Teams to cull 50,000 poultry. This "new" H5N1 outbreak comes within one month of the GOWB's February 12 lifting of poultry trade restrictions in the state, and suggests that culling, mop up operations, and surveillance efforts were inadequate and incomplete. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) On March 8, the presence of H5N1 was confirmed in dead poultry samples from 41 villages in West Bengal's Murshidabad district, about 250 miles north of Kolkata. These villages come under two administrative blocks. Murshidabad district administration confirmed that 27 villages in the Murshidabad-Jiaganj block, and 14 villages in Raghunathganj II Block have been affected by the latest AI outbreak. ¶3. (U) In addition, the media is reporting that over the past seven days, around 1,000 poultry birds died in the Metala, Jhatpara and Goondara villages in neighboring Birbhum district. A West Bengal Animal Resource Department (ARD) official told Post that in Metala, the birds displayed no typical symptoms of H5N1 infection, but Birbhum ARD officials have sent samples to Bhopal's High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) for testing. ¶4. (U) After receiving confirmation of the latest outbreak, the GOWB decided to cull around 50,000 poultry --chicken and ducks. It has set up 30 Rapid Response Teams (RRT) in Murshidabad and moved an additional ten teams in from neighboring districts. Volunteers are being trained to complement RRT efforts. News reports derided the GOWB and Murshidabad district administration's "slow" response to the outbreak, and GOWB officials appeared to acknowledge that they had to reconstruct some of the culling teams, causing a delay. ¶5. (U) COMMENT: While state ARD officials criticize the media's tendency to attribute any poultry death in the state to H5N1, it appears that the GOWB became complacent about AI far too quickly. Less than a month after supposedly culling over four million birds and lifting the poultry ban, "new" cases have been confirmed, indicating that culling, mop up and surveillance efforts were less effective than advertised. ¶6. (U) GOWB Officials also complain that in the run-up to the May Panchayat (village council) elections, local political leaders have been trying to utilize the lucrative compensation package (USD 13 as one-time compensation plus USD 1 per culled bird) to pump in funds to the rural areas. While some of these claims may be true, it is also clear that the GOWB has not been able to adhere to the guidance from Indian federal agencies regarding mop up and surveillance operations. The Lakhshijola village for example -- which reported H5N1 on March 8 -- was within the original culling operational zone. In hindsight, it appears that the GOWB succumbed to pressures from the poultry industry lobby and eased the trade ban too early - barely a month after the confirmation of the outbreak. Most probably incomplete culling, suspect quarantine enforcement, and a hasty return to unrestricted movement of poultry combined to spread the virus from allegedly decontaminated zones. JARDINE