Feature Story

There has been a major outbreak of bird flu in the Indian state of West Bengal. Birds were found to be carrying the H5N1 virus, which can cause avian influenza in humans. Luckily, no human has been found with the disease. The test results of five people suspected of having bird flu came back negative.
Officials say that the bird flu affects seven out of the nineteen districts in West Bengal, with a total population of twenty-four million people.
Surya Kanta Mishra, the State Health Minister, has asked eight other states for help in culling two million birds believed to have bird flu. Officials from Delhi are concerned that the pace of the culling operation is too slow. They say that only 300,000 birds have been killed so far. Sanchita Bakshi, the state health services director said, “There is every chance of the virus spiraling out of hand if it is too late.”
Authorities face a major challenge because it is difficult to chase and catch chickens roaming around infected areas, before being killed.
Reporters say that attempts to contain the disease in West Bengal are being hampered because farmers insist that their poultry is healthy, and refuse to give them up for culling. Farmers also refuse to give up their chickens, because they say that government compensation was insufficient.
The problem is made bigger when farmers who are poor and illiterate don’t understand basic hygiene. People who are not aware of the risks from the H5N1 virus have dumped dead birds in wells and ponds.
In the meantime, Nepal has stopped all imports of poultry from India. A border between West Bengal and Bangladesh has been sealed. There are fears of an outbreak of bird flu in Bangladesh, which has been trying to contain the increase of bird flu since March of last year.
There have been outbreaks of bird flu in India before. A major outbreak in Manipur last year was controlled, as were previous outbreaks in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
The West Bengal government says that it wants to get health workers to carry out an awareness drive to educate their citizens on the risks of bird flu. The battle to fight bird flu in West Bengal continues.