VZCZCXRO0687
OO RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHLH RUEHPW
DE RUEHCI #0046 0371209
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 061209Z FEB 08
FM AMCONSUL KOLKATA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1863
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE USD FAS WASHINGTON DC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0087
RUEHRN/USMISSION UN ROME PRIORITY 0016
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEIDN/DNI WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 2278

UNCLAS KOLKATA 000046 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PLS PASS HHS-STEIGER AND HICKEY AND CDC-COX AND BLOUNT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KFLU TBIO EAGR SENV PGOV CASC AMED ECON IN
SUBJECT: AI IN W. BENGAL-SITREP 17 
 
REF: KOLKATA 43 AND PREVIOUS 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY.  As of February 6, no new districts were added 
to West Bengal's H5N1 map, but there were reports of unusual 
bird deaths in three AI-affected districts.  GOWB resources 
continue to be shifted from culling to mop-up and disinfection 
mode.  Observation and isolation facilities have been 
established in all West Bengal districts.  The virus outbreak 
and the recent ban on poultry trading has had a severe economic 
impact on the state's backyard poultry farms, which account for 
40 percent of the state's USD 1.3 billion poultry industry. 
Neighboring states, including Orissa, are culling birds as a 
preventive measure.  End Summary 
 
¶2. (U)  For a second day, the GOWB Animal Resources Department 
did not designate any new districts in W. Bengal as affected by 
AI.  GOWB figures still put five municipalities and 48 
administrative blocks in 14 districts of West Bengal as 
AI-affected.  However, reports of unusual poultry mortality came 
in from three affected districts:  about 20 birds died in 
Murshidabad, 45 in South 24 Parganas and 66 in North 24 Parganas 
districts (these deaths actually occurred on February 4). 
Samples from the birds have been sent for testing and culling is 
continuing in these districts. 
 
¶3. (U) The total number of Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) deployed 
stands at 298.  Some RRTs are stopping their surveillance work 
and are now performing disinfection and sanitation in the 
affected areas.  The number of RRTS involved in culling as of 
February 4 is 151. 
 
¶4. (U) 24 human samples have been tested for H5N1 and 23 have 
reported negative, with one pending.  All the 14 affected 
districts now have observation wards in place at primary health 
centers and isolation facilities at Sub-divisional level 
hospitals.  Eleven persons were kept in these facilities until 
February 5; eight have been discharged.  Twenty-three 
ventilators have been installed and three more are being 
installed. 
 
¶5. (U) Initial assessments of the economic damage to W. Bengal's 
poultry industry are also coming.  Some media put the size of 
the state's poultry industry at USD 131 million, but the 
chairman of Arambagh Hatcheries - one of the largest hatcheries 
in India - told Post that the actual size would be ten times 
more, i.e. USD 1.3 billion.  The blanket ban on poultry trading 
and transport imposed by the GOWB (reftel) has impacted both the 
organized poultry sector (USD 790 million) and the backyard 
farms (USD 510 million).  Most of the infected poultry come from 
backyard farms and the impact of the outbreak will be felt most 
severely in these rural areas.  Poultry industry representatives 
are likely to put pressure on the state government to review the 
ban. 
 
¶6.  (U) Preventive culling has started in Jharkhand, Bihar and 
Orissa, and continues in Assam.  According to the Indian 
Express, Orissa, which had resisted imposing preventive culling 
efforts, began culling a day after Orissa Chief Minister Naveen 
Patnaik met with members of his cabinet about the GOI directive. 
 
¶7.  (U) COMMENT:  As the AI outbreak in West Bengal appears to 
be stabilizing, with no new reports of AI infections in the last 
few days, post will reduce the frequency of its sitreps. 
 
JARDINE