Photo Credit – FAO
# 6678
Last Friday in Bangalore, India: H5N1 in Turkeys, I reported on the discovery of H5N1 at a government-run poultry operation on the outskirts of Bangalore, that had resulted in the deaths and culling of more than 3,300 birds.
Today, we are learning that the culling operation has been increased nearly 10-fold, with roughly 33,000 birds now culled. This from the IBT.
Bird Flu Outbreak in Karnataka: Over 33,000 Poultry Birds Culled at CPDO
By Ankita Mehta | October 30, 2012 10:39 AM GMT
Fear of avian influenza continued to create panic in Karnataka after more than 33,000 poultry birds -19,235 chicken, 13,673 ducks and 369 emus - were culled at Central Poultry Development Organization (CPDO) in Hesaraghatta, 40 km from Bangalore.
The freewheeling Indian media is rarely shy about criticizing the government’s response to bird flu (or any other crisis). Today we get an example from DNA.
Bird flu is on, so is passing-the-buck
Published: Tuesday, Oct 30, 2012, 16:43 IST
By Nirad Mudur & Deepthi MR | Place: Bangalore | Agency: DNAThe Centre on October 25 notified its confirmation that avian influenza has indeed struck the Central Poultry Development Organisation & Training Institute (CPDOTI) located in Byatha village in Hesaraghatta on the outskirts of Bangalore.
But despite the confirmation that 4,265 turkeys had died due to avian influenza and 206 chicken and 17 ducks died due to suspected infection from the same disease, the state health department and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP)’s health department are engaged in a bureaucratic passing-the-buck. Each is stating that the responsibility of checking the disease spread lies solely with the state department of animal husbandry.
Of particular concern, the story above goes on to state that several poultry farms close to the affected farm had already moved their flocks in order to avoid culling them.
Since that can spread the virus to other regions, neighboring states are now taking steps to prevent entry of birds from Karnataka.
This from the Deccan Herald.
Bird flu in Karnataka: Kerala bans poultry from outside
Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 30, 2012 (PTI)
Kerala has banned entry of poultry from other states following detection of avian influenza (bird flu) in a central government farm at Hesserghatt in southern Karnataka.
Following an intimation in this regard from the Karnataka Government, the state Animal Husbandry Department has banned movement of poultry from both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu since last evening, official sources said today.
For now, H5N1 remains primarily a threat to poultry and wild birds. India has yet to report a human infection from the virus.
But elsewhere around the world more than 600 widely scattered human infections have been reported, and the mortality rate has been a horrendously high 60% among known cases.
And so we watch outbreaks such as this with keen interest.
