By Soudhriti Bhabani, IANS
Kolkata : As bird flu wreaks havoc in West Bengal, the forest department has brought under the scanner thousands of migratory birds that visit the state every winter from Siberia and East Europe.
“We are keeping a close watch on all the migratory birds that have arrived since October at the Santragachi Lake in Howrah. We have increased the number of our officials to carry out round the clock monitoring and alerted the veterinary surgeon there,” Howrah Divisional Forest Officer Sanjit Chakraborty told IANS.
Migratory birds frequent Santragachi, a thickly populated area around 10 km from Kolkata, during the winter months – October to March. The lake sees over 5,000 ducks and moorhens flying to the safe haven.
According to the forest department, Santragachi saw 5,120 migratory birds arrive till Jan 5.
Chakraborty said the forest department was keeping a tab on the movement of migratory birds.
“We have asked our officials to alert the higher authorities if any deaths take place among the birds,” he said.
The migratory birds make their winter home in two places in and around Kolkata – Santragachi and Alipur Zoo in the metropolis.
“The birds generally start coming to the zoo from February,” Alipur Zoo director Subir Chowdhury told IANS. “We shall consult our veterinary surgeon and do the needful.”
Bird flu in West Bengal has spread to new areas, tests confirmed Saturday, even as efforts were on to contain the outbreak by culling poultry. The new areas are Burdwan and Nadia districts.
“The laboratory tests in Bhopal confirmed the spread of the disease to Mangalkot and Purbasthali in Burdwan and Tehatta in Nadia. It was also confirmed that the deaths in Murshidabad district’s Khargram and Baroa were also due to the virus,” Animal Resource Development Minister Anisur Rahman told IANS.
Burdwan and Nadia, in southern West Bengal, are barely 200 km from Kolkata.
The state had set a target of slaughtering 400,000 poultry birds. But with the spread of the disease to new areas, at least 200,000 more birds might have to be culled.
According to a World Health Organisation study, a section of migratory birds carry the H5N1 bird flu virus. In 2005, over 6,000 migratory birds died in China due to this strain.
The H5N1 virus causes a type of influenza in birds that is highly contagious and can be deadly. It does not usually infect humans unless they come in close contact with infected birds or contaminated surfaces.