CONFIRMED OUTBREAK OF AVIAN INFLUENZA H5N1 IN WEST BENGAL

UNCLAS KOLKATA 000011 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE PASS TO NSF FOR INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS STATE PASS TO USAID STATE FOR OES/PCI, OES/IHB, SCA/INSB, STAS, AIAG HHS PASS TO OGHA (KULIKOWSKI/CUMMINGS) HHS FOR NIH/FIC (GLASS/MAMPILLY/HANDLEY) HHS FOR FDA (LUMPKIN/VALDEZ) HHS FOR CDC (BLOUNT/COX) USDA FOR APHIS (FLEMING/BURLESON) USDA FOR FAS (FERUS/BEAN) NEW DELHI FOR FAS/APHIS BANGKOK FOR USAID E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR SENV CASC PGOV AMED KFLU IN SUBJECT: CONFIRMED OUTBREAK OF AVIAN INFLUENZA H5N1 IN WEST BENGAL ¶1. (U) On January 14 the Indian central government's High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal confirmed the presence of avian influenza and the H5N1 virus in samples taken from the village of Khargram, West Bengal. The outbreak's epicenter is in the district of Murshidabad located approximately 230 km north of Kolkata and 60 km west of the India-Bangladesh international border. It is the country's first H5N1 confirmation of the winter avian influenza "season" and takes place less than three months after the country had declared itself free of avian influenza on October 22, 2009. In 2008 Khargram had one confirmed avian influenza outbreak. ¶2. (U) The state's director for Animal Resource Development (ARD),onsite in Khargram, told PolFSN telephonically that rapid response teams began culling operations on January 14. Over the next three days the teams plan to cull more than 62,000 poultry and ducks in the 21 villages within the 3 km radius. The state government is following central government guidelines on culling compensation. According to the director, villagers have been cooperative in the culling operation and district officials and police are enforcing a ban on poultry movement in the area. The director reported an adequate supply of protective gear and medicine. ¶3. (SBU) Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture expressed concern to EmbOFF about the impact of a fresh outbreak on poultry operations in India, given the economic impact of past outbreaks. However, they were confident about the central and state government's ability to manage the outbreak due to its extensive experiences in the past. They are optimistic that no new trade restrictions on commercial poultry or egg exports will materialize as the majority of importers understand that an overwhelming majority of exports come from the southern part of the country far from the outbreak in West Bengal. The central government veterinary authorities are in discussion with domestic commercial poultry operators about possible compartmentalization against avian influenza outbreaks to prevent trade disruption, but these talks have yet to come to a conclusion and may take some time yet to work. ¶4. (U) The current avian influenza episode takes place at a time when the West Bengal state government was already working with the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Office on a USAID funded project to train and sensitive ARD personnel about India-Bangladesh cross-border traffic and its impact on the spread of the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus. PAYNE