Dead Crows In Malda West Bengal Raise H5N1 Concerns
Recombinomics Commentary 16:17
December 17, 2008
The villagers suspect that the dead crows might have eaten the carcass of the Bird Flu affected chickens. The CMOH, Malda, Mr Srikanta Roy, said that this could be a possibility.
Despite the situation, there is no awareness campaign at Norhatta against consumption of chicken. Children could be seen playing around with the dead crows that had simply fallen off the trees in the area. It may be noted that the local gram panchayat yesterday decided to inform people that they should not eat chicken.
Mostaq Mian, a resident of Budhia village, said that despite warnings, the people are consuming the dead chickens.
The above description of crows dying in Malda (see 2009 map) and villagers eating the dead poultry repeats events described in January when H5N1 was discovered in Birbhum, just to the south in West Bengal (see 2008 map). The dead crows raise concerns of local spread by wild birds or wild animals. Although there is little doubt that the crows are H5N1 infected, India has never reported H5N1 in any host other than dead or dying poultry.
Last season crows also died in Bangladesh, which were H5N1 confirmed. In addition, dogs and jackals died in Tripura after eating infected birds, adding to concerns that these outbreaks offer opportunities for spread and evolution in mammalian hosts.
The same is true for the villagers eating the birds, which can lead to transmission which birds are prepared. Symptomatic villagers were largely just observed last season, and those that did not develop pneumonia were not tested. The same appears to be true for symptomatic patients in Assam.
However, as was seen in the recent confirmed case in Cambodia, or prior cases in Egypt, H5N1 can cause milder disease that does not lead to pneumonia.
Thus, the hundreds of dead crows create additional concerns that are not addressed by testing in India.
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