VZCZCXRO2194
PP RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHLH RUEHPW
DE RUEHCI #0145 1331833
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 121833Z MAY 08
FM AMCONSUL KOLKATA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1991
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
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 2432

UNCLAS KOLKATA 000145 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PLS PASS TO HHS, APHIS, AND CDC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KFLU TBIO EAGR SENV AMED CASC IN NP
SUBJECT: AVIAN INFLUENZA FOUND IN WEST BENGAL'S DARJEELING DISTRICT 
 
REF: KOLKATA 136 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY:  On May 9, the avian influenza (AI) virus spread 
to West Bengal's Darjeeling district, bringing the total number 
of districts affected in West Bengal to 18 out of 19.  The 
spread of H5N1 outside of the normal migratory season suggests 
that the virus may be embedded in West Bengal's domestic poultry 
population.  The state Animal Resources Development Department 
Minister indicated that the virus is going to persist in the 
state and blamed backyard poultry operations for the ineffective 
culling and the virus' recurrence.  The newly affected villages 
are very close to the India-Nepal international border, and 
there is understandable concern about the virus spreading into 
Nepal.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) On May 9, the presence of H5N1 virus was confirmed at 
Painikumari village in West Bengal's Darjeeling district, about 
430 miles north of Kolkata.  Alarmed by poultry mortality over 
the past seven days, on May 8, the West Bengal Animal Resources 
Development (ARD) Department sent samples for testing at HSADL, 
Bhopal, which confirmed the presence of the virus. Darjeeling's 
district administrators told media that on May 10, 20 Rapid 
Response Teams (RRT) started culling and surveillance operations 
in 28 villages that fall within a three-mile radius of 
Painikumari village.  Culling and sanitization are expected to 
be complete by May 13.  There are no large farms in the area and 
raising poultry is entirely through small, backyard operations. 
 
3 (U) Painikumari village is located near the India-Nepal 
international border.  The narrow "chicken's neck" strip of West 
Bengal between Nepal and Bangladesh is only 22km wide.  The ARD 
department has deployed a team from Kolkata that will monitor 
cross-border poultry traffic to ensure that no poultry enters 
Nepal from the infected zone, though it is unlikely to be 
effective, as the borders are essentially open.  Post has 
learned that on May 12, a Nepalese delegation met senior ARD 
officials in Kolkata.  ARD officials also told Post that a team 
of GOI observers has reached Painikumari to monitor the 
situation.  Contacts in the city of Siliguri, which is close to 
Darjeeling, told Post that awareness about H5N1 infection is 
generally low amongst the local people. 
 
4 (U) With Darjeeling joining the state's AI-infected areas, the 
number of districts affected by the virus this year has risen to 
18 (out of 19 administrative districts).  Since January 2008 all 
West Bengal districts with the exception of Kolkata have now 
reported H5N1 outbreaks, although the pattern of infection in 
West Bengal did not follow a specific route between contiguous 
districts.  Some districts like Murshidabad and Nadia also 
reported outbreaks more than once. 
 
¶5. (U) COMMENT: New outbreaks occurring the avian migratory 
season suggest that the H5N1 virus may have become embedded in 
the poultry population of West Bengal.  Local media quoted West 
Bengal ARD Minister Anisur Rahaman as saying that sporadic H5N1 
outbreaks are here to stay.  Rahaman said that the prevalence of 
backyard poultry has made culling and decontamination 
ineffective, leaving behind a residual viral load in sanitized 
areas.  The argument for a regional or international mechanism 
to fight the H5N1 outbreak will gain momentum if the virus 
spreads to Nepal, which is likely given the porosity of the 
Indo-Nepal border, particularly in the Darjeeling district. 
 
JARDINE