Bird flu hits India as Turkey, Indonesia detect cases

Source: Reuters/India

Tue Jan 22, 2008 6:42pm IST

KOLKATA (Reuters) - An outbreak of bird flu in India's most densely populated state of West Bengal could spiral out of control, officials said on Tuesday, as the disease spread to a seventh district.

The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu was found among poultry in Malda, infecting seven of the 19 districts in West Bengal, according to state officials.

"There is every chance of the virus spiralling out of hand if it's too late," said Sanchita Bakshi, the state health services director.

At least 24 million people live in West Bengal's seven affected districts. Officials worry the virus could spread to humans and were collecting random blood samples from villagers.

The World Health Organisation has said it was India's most serious outbreak.



Read more: http://in.reuters.com/article/topNews/idINIndia-31523020080122

My boss (an IT Director at a small college) is absolutely insane about having as many pc's stashed around the state for the "inevitable pandemic" as we possibly can ... this will only fuel his OCD.

Truth be told, if it does hit the US, the last thing people are going to be thinking about is leaving their houses to
go to class or get online and do their homework, and my Help Techs have already said flat out that they aren't coming
in to campus to distribute the damn pc's anyway ...


:shrug:

The more exposure of people to the infected birds will up the odds of this transmutation happening though.

... he's had over 100 pc's stashed in a leaky old garage for TWO YEARS already, in anticipation of 'the outbreak'. :eyes: Any media encouragement at all and he's going to flip
completely off the deep end.

Just a few days.

I follow the latest avian flu news under the news section at fluwikie http://www.newfluwiki2.com/frontPage.do
It is fascinating to watch it spread. There are outbreaks everywhere.

Here is the Indonesian machine translation of an article
Another Tamiflu blanket Garut?
As many as 15 residents Kec Peundeuy, were stated as suspectAvian Influenza (AI).

Three from 15 residents of the Cireundeu Village, Desa Toblongini was admitted to RSU Dr Slamet, Kab Garut, yesterday.

Now 12 other was treated intensive in the Peundeuy Community Health Centre.

The patient suspect first bird flu that entered RSU, that is Ikhsan,5,sekitar struck 02,00 WIB. Several puluh the minute afterwards, followed two other patients, that is the older brother was siblings Saeful Fahmi,13, and Soni, 6 months.

Since yesterday, the three of them began to receive the intensive maintenance in space of the bird flu isolation of RSU. Ketiga the patient suspectdatang here around struck 02,10 of WIB. Kami direct memasukan him to isolation space, said the Head of the Pengelola Body RSU Dr Slamet Garut Widjayanti Utojo to SINDO, yesterday. Kasubag Informasi and the Pelanggan Service (IPP) RSU Dr Slamet Garut Yogie Prayogi explained, the Ikhsan condition when entering RS experienced the fever with the temperature 37.5 Celsius levels, breathing 92 times per the minute, and respiration 28 times per the minute.
For Saeful, experienced the fever with the temperature 36.4 Celsius levels, breathing 88 times per the minute, and respiration 24 times per the minute.
While Soni experienced the fever with the temperature 37 Celsius levels, breathing 92 times per the minute, and respiration 28 times per the minute.

Your mother of Saeful-Soni, Iis Sopiah, 35, said, hundreds of poultries in his village indeed died suddenly since two last weeks.
His two children, said Iis, began to complain was sick since last Friday (18/1).
First cuman hot demam.Tapi, after a fever day, so the cough and crowded.

We were startled and immediately carried him to the community health centre, said Iis.
The village of the 15 residents almost two last weeks were indeed stricken by the concern resulting from the death of thousands of chickens suddenly.

The head of the Peundeuy Community Health Centre Dr Nadya Se- FINA said, when having his resident who experienced the fever in the area of the death of the poultry, let alone being accompanied clinical signs that headed in suspectAI, his side at once reconciled him to RSU. Itu already protap (the procedure continue to), stated Nadya.

Before being reconciled to RSU, said Nadya, the three patients have been given asupan Tamiflu to reduce the incubation of the virus that was already reactive in the body.
***********************************
Also there is a child that died in India that they might exhume to see if it was from avian flu.

this is being handled poorly with a lot of finger pointing. Since this article there are over 2000 fever cases and no meds and no Drs. to see the people. Then again, the fevers could be from a lot of things in that area.

India risks bird flu ‘disaster’, human cases feared

* Health officials in New Delhi analysing blood samples from 150 people who complained of fever

KOLKATA: India’s worst ever outbreak of bird flu could turn into a disaster, an official warned Tuesday, as five people were reportedly quarantined with symptoms of the virus.

Eight districts in the eastern state of West Bengal have been hit by the virus, and dead birds are being sold and locals said to be “feasting” on cheap chicken. The state’s animal resources minister, Anisur Rahaman, said authorities were “determined to cull all poultry in the districts in three or four days, otherwise the state will face a disaster.” More than 100,000 bird deaths have been reported, and teams are racing to cull two million chickens and ducks.

The Times of India reported five people in West Bengal have been quarantined with “clinical symptoms” of avian flu - including fever, coughing, sore throat and muscle ache - after handling affected poultry. If the tests are positive, this will be the first case of human infection in India, home to 1.1 billion people and hit by bird flu among poultry three times since 2006.

Blood samples: Health officials in New Delhi said they were currently analysing blood samples from close to 150 people who have complained of fever. On the ground, culling teams have been facing an uphill battle with villagers smuggling birds out of flu affected areas and selling them in open markets. Sheikh Ali, a vendor in Birbhum’s Gharisa market, 340 kilometres from the state capital Kolkata, said the sale of poultry had doubled in the past week. “The prices of chicken have come down from 60 rupees to 20 rupees per kilogramme.

“Poor villagers are feasting on chicken. At normal times, they cannot afford to buy as prices are so high. Now they are enjoying the meat,” Ali said. People typically catch the disease by coming into direct contact with infected poultry, but experts fear a flu pandemic if the H5N1 mutates into a form easily transmissible between humans. Migratory birds have been largely blamed for the global spread of the disease, which has killed more than 200 people worldwide since 2003.
more at link
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008/01/23/story_23-1-2008_pg4_20