Via CIDRAP, Lisa Schnirring has a good summary: H5N1 spreads to more Indian districts. Excerpt:
Animal health officials in India's West Bengal state recently reported new H5N1 avian influenza outbreaks in two more districts, according to media reports.
Officials from the affected districts said the virus was found in two villages in Darjeeling and adjacent sites in Jalpaiguri, according to a Jan 3 report from Reuters. The outbreaks involved chickens, the Times of India reported yesterday. The two districts are neighbors in the northern part of West Bengal state.
Surendra Gupta, an official with Darjeeling district, said 30 culling teams were slated to start destroying birds yesterday, and Bandana Yadav, an official from Jalpaiguri, said 10 teams from the district also set out yesterday to cull birds within the outbreak radius.
In late November the virus cropped up in India again after a 5-month lull, striking birds in Assam state, according to previous reports. In mid December, neighboring West Bengal state started reporting fresh outbreaks. An area of Bangladesh that borders both states has also reported recent H5N1 outbreaks.
