Friday, December 30, 2011

Crow death specter spreads to Jajpur #H5N1

Crow death specter spreads to Jajpur

KENDRAPADA: The mysterious epidemic that claimed many crows in the port town of Paradip recently has now spread to Jajpur Road of Jajpur district, with about 150 crow deaths reported in Jajpur Road area over the past two days, triggering panic among residents who have been advised by experts not to touch the carcasses.

"Recently many crows have died due to the deadly bird flu disease or H5N1 virus in areas of Jharkhand, bordering Odisha. We are on the alert since the crows started dying in Jajpur Road," said Dr Kailash Chandra Mohanty, chief district veterinary officer (CDVO) of Jajpur on Thursday.

"We are organizing workshops and training and distributing pamphlets detailing the dos and don'ts regarding crow deaths. It will basically pertain to the correct methods of using kits and handling crow carcasses. The surveillance unit has been asked to procure special kits comprising gloves, masks and other tools," said Dr Chitta Ranjan Swain of Animal Disease Research Institute (ADRI) of Bhubaneswar. This apart, hoardings will also be put up to inform people about safe ways to handle and dispose of the dead scavengers and prevent the spread of the avian virus to poultry and human beings, he added.

Swain suspects Pasturella, E-coli viruses are largely responsible for the abrupt rise in death of crows in Paradip and Jajpur Road. "Bulging eyes, constant fluid discharge from the mouth, moderation in feather flap, imbalance in their posture are a few symptoms of the crows affected by the Pasturella and E-coil virus," he said.

"In the past few weeks, we have noticed a relative increase in the death of crows and possibly it could be due to these viruses but we need to corroborate the claims with a medical report. People were also being instructed to sprinkle lime over the carcasses and also at the place where the crows are being buried," Swain said.

Recently the Indian Veterinary Research Institute's (IVRI) Bhopal centre held the avian influenza virus, H5N1, responsible for crow deaths in Jharkhand. Veterinary officials on Thursday collected carcasses in Jajpur and sent two of those to the Animal Disease Research Institute (ADRI) in Bhubaneswar to ascertain the role of virus in the crow deaths. Some of the carcasses were sent to the Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Kolkata to identify the exact reasons behind the crow deaths, said Dr Mohanty.

Sudhanshu Parida, an environmentalist and the secretary of the district unit of People for Animals, which deals with environmental issues, on Thursday demanded a scientific study to find out the reason behind the spate of crow deaths in the state. Besides bird flu, various other factors like radiation from mobile phone towers, exposure to cold and other diseases could also be responsible for the crow deaths, Parida said.

He also stressed on the need to study behavioural pattern of the birds like where they build their nests, their eating habits and issues like pollution and the depleting green cover.  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Crow-death-specter-spreads-to-Jajpur/articleshow/11302777.cms

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