As per latest information received, a total mortality of 1,13,796 poultry birds has been reported from Birbhum, Dakshin Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Nadia, South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, Burdwan & Bankura districts of West Bengal.
The HSADL, Bhopal has confirmed a positive result for Avian Influenza (H5) in respect of samples from Krishnanagar-I and Haringhata blocks of Nadia district, Ktugram, Jamuria and Galsi blocks of Burdwan district and Nalhati-I and Bolpur-Sriniketan blocks of Birbhum district of West Bengal on the basis of rapid tests.
A number of samples from Howrah, South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, Hooghly, Kolkata, West Midnapur tested at the HSADL, Bhopal turned a negative result.
On 21.01.2008, a total of 258 Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) were deployed for culling, mopping up and surveillance operations. The maximum number of teams are working in Birbhum (79), followed by Burdwan (60), Murshidabad (51), Dakshin Dinajpur and Nadia (34 each).
The RRTs have, up to 21st January 2008, culled a total of 2.42 lakh poultry, destroyed 88,252 eggs and about 3000 kgs of feed material.
The joint teams of the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries and the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare visiting Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa, Assam and Meghalaya are continuing their work in these states. A team has also moved to Tripura and Mizoram today.
Source: Press Information Bureau, India