# 707
At this point, there is too little information here to conclude that these three family members died of avian flu. Suspicions apparently run high enough, however, that it made the headline in The Statesman.
Pranesh Sarkar
KOLKATA, April 26: At a time when the deadly H5N1 or avian flu virus has created panic in the bordering districts of Bangladesh, the state health department appears to be groping in the dark, after three people from a family died of a mysterious disease in Nadia district over a span of 15 days.
The health department officials said that all the victims showed classical symptoms like high fever, severe headache, respiratory distress and vomiting which are common to all viral diseases including avian flu. The district health department had been put on high alert to contain spread of the disease.
A senior health department official at Swasthya Bhavan said the victims were from a family residing in Lalbazar village of Tehatta-I sub division in Nadia. On 9 April, 35-year-old Tapas Majumdar was found suffering from the disease. He died on 11 April at Tehatta Sub Divisional hospital. Tapas’ brother Timir Majumdar (25) fell ill, on 13 April, and died on 23 April. On 23 April, Sabitri, widow of Tapas was admitted to the same hospital with the same symptoms. She died on Tuesday.
India has denied they have had any avian influenza outbreaks for nearly a year. The last outbreaks in poultry in India were reported back in the spring of 2006, which resulted in massive culling operations.
Their neighboring countries, however, continue to point the finger at India as being the source of their infections. Whether that is true, or simply a convenient political statement to offset blame, is hard to say.
Presumably, we'll get test results at some point, and know what the story really is.
UPDATE: 0530 Hrs EDT
ProMED, the news alert system for the International Society For Infectious Diseases, which tracks outbreaks of infectious diseases worldwide, has issued the following RFI (Request for Information) on the reported deaths in Bengal. A contributor has suggested that the cause could be the Nipah virus, a viral infection carried by fruit bats.
UNDIAGNOSED DEATHS - INDIA (EAST BENGAL): REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
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A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>Date: Thu 26 Apr 2007
Source: The Telegraph, Calcutta, India [edited]
Three members of a family have died of an unknown disease in Nadias Betai village since February 2007. Health officials said a 35-year-old man died on 11 Feb 2007 after complaining of severe headache, abdominal pain and diarrhea. His brother and wife, who died this month [April 2007], also had the same symptoms. A medical team has been sent to the village, about 150 km from Calcutta.
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Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Joseph P. Dudley, Ph.D[Dr. Dudley has commented that the village referred to in this report is located in the eastern district of West Bengal, close to the border with Bangladesh, and near districts in western Bangladesh where several outbreaks of Nipah virus infection have been reported, including Kushtia, where currently there is a suspected Nipah
outbreak (see ProMED-mail post archived as Undiagnosed deaths, encephalitis - Bangladesh (Kushtia)(02): Nipah, RFI 20070423.1330).
