A chilling eyewitness blog from an H5N1 flu hotspot in Kolkata, India (W. Bengal area)

[PureCajunSunshine]

Here's a chilling unadulturated eyewitness commentary blog from an H5N1 flu hotspot from Kolkata, India (West Bengal area)

 

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entri...05500/tpod.html

 

 

(Hattip to Siam at Pandemic Flu Information http://www.singtomeohmuse.com )

 

 

Here's the account, in part....

 

 

Bird Flu Perspectives, News

Kolkata, West Bengal, India

 

Saturday, Jan 26, 2008 22:50

 

I am seeing ever new dimensions of the expanding epidemic here and the vulnerabilities it poses to the population in Kolkata and West Bengal due to particularities of culture and lifestyle. The epidemic in poultry is confirmed in new districts almost daily. With 2 nearby districts confirmed, one immediately across the river, Kolkata will surely join the list within a few days.

 

The good news is that the press, individuals, and even the local government, are waking up to the seriousness of the threat.

 

The bad news is that the government is totally out of its depth in its capacity to even rise to previous levels of the epidemic, much less to address new dimensions of the crisis. The state government here is profoundly corrupt and utterly incompetent about even the most daily aspects of governance. It is in no position to handle a crisis of this magnitude. It is a testament to the tenacity, determination and resilience of Bengalis that anything functions at all here on a normal day.

 

One grave concern is the government’s constant refrain, in the same wording in virtually every article that appears, that there are: “No suspected human cases....” It has the suspicious ring of a statement of commitment or a policy rather than anything remotely credible, given the ongoing human exposure in affected regions (see my previous post, if you haven’t already). If that proves to be a correct reading on my part, the truth will inevitably become undeniable, but people will not have been preparing or protecting themselves from multiple avenues of exposure. The death toll from animal-to-human contagion will be incalculably higher and the virus will have all the more opportunities to mutate to human-to-human contagion. (The press to date has universally accepted the government reports at face value rather than questioning them in any meaningful way.)

 

I said in my previous post that West Bengal is a perfect storm for the virus to mutate to human to human transmission when you take into account the uncontrolled spread of disease, ineffective governmental response, and lifestyles that give other mammals and human beings multiple layers of exposure to affected poultry and their droppings.

 

Among the lifestyle issues in Kolkata (population 13. 6 million at last census, NOT 5 million as reported in Reuters the other day) and the heavily populated rural districts of West Bengal (80 million) that give particular vulnerability to humans:

 

•Densely populated, primarily illiterate, impoverished rural and urban population lacking basics of sanitation or education about the disease.

 

•Livestock in rural areas have frequent contact with poultry. Goats are already dying in unusual numbers with the telltale symptoms of bird flu in one district. Cows, too, are exposed (feeding on grass and ground where affected poultry have run free, left their droppings. Cows are held sacred here. They roam free everywhere, rural and urban, in West Bengal. (Will they cull apparently healthy cows if cows begin to become ill? Not likely.) Critical question: how does a government who has not been able to handle the poultry epidemic with even minimal effectiveness add goat and other animal culling to its response program?

 

•As in all cities, there are lots of pigeons and crows that congregate around apartment complexes to be fed by bird lovers on their balconies each morning. Lots of people feed them. Every balcony I have seen has lots of bird droppings all over it. Crows and hawks have been reported dying in several districts where the epidemic was later confirmed (see article included below). Unusual crow and owl bird deaths were recently reported in Kolkata

 

•In Kolkata, everyone, in all socio-economic classes, hangs their washed clothes out to dry on balconies, where birds leave their droppings on both the railings and the clothes (it’s too hot in Kolkata for electric dryers). People simply brush, wipe, or rinse off bird droppings and wear the clothes. In a diseased area, this constitutes exposure potential not only the individual but to others with whom s/he comes in contact.

 

•Hundreds of thousands to millions of people ride the train every day into Kolkata, possibly from already affected districts, to work in domestic households and at other jobs. The main train station is in Howrah, an affected district.

 

•Almost all cats and dogs in Kolkata and West Bengal are strays. Few are owned. They are everywhere, scavenging. Stray cats are common, my apartment complex included. They hover around the elevators, climb the stairs and whine loudly outside my door for food and attention. (A sick animal would be leaving contaminated saliva from sneezing and coughing, as well as feces in all of those places, which could then be picked up on shoes and brought into residences.) When the disease hits Kolkata’s birds, hungry dogs and cats will consume dead birds raw. Cats and dogs have been known to contract the disease, and will become an additional, extensive source of exposure to humans.

 

•Almost all markets here are crowded and bustling open air markets. Vendor stalls line the roads, very close to the street in many villages, as teeming foot traffic, bicycle, motorcycle, and larger vehicle traffic pass by and a thriving business life takes place all around them. The other night driving through a village, at one vendor’s table less than 4 feet from my car window, a slaughtered chicken’s bloody remains sat dripping on the table and the ground below it, while the vendor sat casually right next to it and people walked and rode past, exposing all if the bird was contagious. Looking at the map of affected districts (link below), this was an affected district at that time. It is an example of the vulnerabilities at play here due to lifestyle and everyday commercial practices.

 

•I found one website article yesterday that reported some culling teams are killing poultry, then refusing to bury the carcasses, because they hadn’t been given any instructions to bury them! Villagers complained about the dead and rotting carcasses being left on the ground. A health minister responded that culling teams would be instructed to bury the birds they killed! Another culling team left bloody plastic bags filled with dead poultry carcasses in a drain rather than burying or otherwise properly disposing of them.

 

•One district has yet to receive any culling teams, despite having had the virus confirmed 5 days ago.

 

•With heavy rain and cold (for West Bengal) weather, culling has slowed or stopped in most districts for the last 3 days and heavy rain is projected for tomorrow. (NOTE of a previous error on my part: Scientists say rain can help prevent spread of the disease, it does not spread the disease exponentially.

 

•Each day, I see yet another photo of a culling team member in Hazmat gear, being handed a chicken by a totally unprotected poultry worker. Many of them have others who are unprotected visibly nearby as well.

 

These are only the most obvious avenues to human exposure and infection, and the issues I have found in the media. I am sure that there are lots of others.

 

For those who are interested, among the more significant findings of my research online yesterday are the following:

 

Dead Crows Raise H5Nl Worry

Friday, January 18, 2008 - FreeMarketNews.com

Dead birds --- crows and owls --- were found in Kolkata's southern and eastern parts today causing fresh fears as a civic team moved around the metropolis to collect bird carcasses. The above comments on dead wild birds in Calcutta are cause for concern. Large numbers of dead crows were seen in initial video reports of H5N1 in Birbhum and media reports noted that owls and pigeons also died. Dead poultry in adjacent Murshidabad were also associated with dead wild birds, including crows and hawks, which were also linked to outbreaks in South Dinajpur. Similarly, excess poultry deaths have been noted in multiple districts, including South 24 Parganas, which is south of Kolkata Therefore, the reports of dead crows and owls in Kolkata raise concerns that H5N1 has spread along the length of the West Bengal / Bangladesh border. Bangladesh has been reporting daily outbreaks of H5N1 including locations in southern Bangladesh, supporting extensive spread of H5N1 in both countries. -Recombinomics

http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=53926

 

 

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?...theme=&usrs ess=1&id=186925

Boy dies after eating sick chicken

Statesman News Service

PLASSEY (Nadia), Jan. 21: Selim Malick Sheikh (9), a class III student of Mira Sahid Swaran Primary School of Kadamtalapara in Plassey in Kaliganj block of Nadia died on the night of 19 January within 48 hours after consuming sick chickens cooked at home. He died on his way to Beliaghata ID Hospital.

Dr Bhaskar Samanta, superintendent of the Behrampur Sadar Hospital where Selim was admitted for a short time before being referred to Beliaghata ID hospital said: “I cannot say whether he died of bird flu.”

Animal husbandry minister Mr Anisur Rahman said he had asked the CMOH, Nadia, to confirm the cause of Selim's death. “If need be, the body will be exhumed,” he said. State health minister Dr Surjya Kanta Mishra said: “This is not a case of a human death caused by avian flu. No such case has been reported in the state so far.”

 

The article below is on a different boy than previous article.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080122/jsp/bengal/story_88121 45.jsp

 

Probe into boy death

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Krishnagar, Jan. 21: A 10-year-old boy who had fever died yesterday in Plassey, Nadia.

The area is not in the bird flu zone and doctors said there was no immediate reason to suspect the disease.

But district health authorities have ordered a probe because Samirul Sheikh’s family rears chickens.

On Friday evening, the Class IV student told his parents that he was feeling ill. His condition started deteriorating that night.

“We brought a quack but he couldn’t improve his condition. On Saturday morning, I took Samirul to the Kaligunj block hospital,” said the boy’s father, Manirul, a resident of PWD More, 150km from Calcutta.

Block medical officer Manas Bhattacharjee said Samirul had 104-degree Fahrenheit fever and stomach pain. His blood sugar level had shot up to 260, 120 above normal.

 

 

The following link has an excellent map showing 9 of the 11 districts of West Bengal that are currently affected by the epidemic among poultry.

http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/mapinnews/bird-flu-in-west-b engal.html

 

 

The Below is a posting from an RN on a website www.PlanforPandemic.com

 

...Stop testing for H5N1 as soon as someone walks in the door with symptoms. Consider this issue the way you consider running a pregnancy test on a woman whose period just ended last week, had sex 3 days ago, woke up the next morning with enlarged breasts (yes, it happens) and has felt "different" ever since. It's very possible that she's pregnant, but very unlikely to show up as a positive test.

Instead of doing the tests, knowing that the likelihood is that they will be negative even if the person has H5N1, just treat the patient as if he has the disease. Treat to the symptoms, especially if you're talking about India, Indonesia, etc. Wait a week or so to run the first test.

Why am I saying this? Because while WHO … know(s) full well that the vast majority of H5N1 tests are negative the first time, even when the patient is showing clear symptoms, the vast majority of practitioners "on the ground" in India, etc., don't know that. They assume when they read "negative" that the person doesn't have AI. The tests are expensive, time-consuming, and pointless if they are false negatives. The resulting actions by practitioners believing these falsely negative tests can be downright dangerous. Wait until the blood levels have the opportunity to rise, and keep treating the patient. If it walks like a sick duck, quacks like a sick duck, and has just been playing with its H5N1 sick duck friends, assume it's a sick duck, and go on with the correct therapy. AnnieRN

 

 

 

One excellent source of current news articles and recent news releases is www.news.google.co.in You need to scroll down the page to HEALTH and then click on the link to show all the current articles on bird flu outbreak In India. Here is how the link shows up on my web address line: http://news.google.co.in/nwshp?client=fire...mp;rls=org.mozi lla:en-US:official&hl=en&tab=wn

[Cowgirl]

Wow. Depending on third world medicine to recognize and deal with the problem effectively pretty much dooms us to a world wide pandemic if this thing mutates. Depending on third world governments to effectively recognize and deal with the problem is equally problematic. It makes me cringe to think of wiping bird crap off my "clean" clothes before putting them on - but the author is right - with that level of exposure, it would seem that the chances for a mutation to a human-to-human transmissible virus are very great.

[Mother]

Even more ominous is the fact that they suspect crows, hawks, owls and pigeons of having the disease. Hitherto they knew that fowl and wild water fowl could carry it/have it and that it could be spread to cats and ferrets and a few other animals, INCLUDING the pig but now they not only have these birds but also possibly goats.

 

We might want to think of the implications of that problem. If this proves to be true, then it means the virus has been able to mutate enough, in a relatively short period of time, to encompass a large variety of animals and birds and makes the mutation to HtoH even more likely. It also allows it's spread much more effecient even to other parts of the world.

 

When the bird flu comes to this country, what are your plans to protect yourself? Many members worried about keeping chickens and other fowl because of the possible threat but are we prepared to totally remove all animals that we utilize as food? All poultry and fowl and goats and cows (if that becomes a problem). Will rabbits follow the same trend? What meat source does that leave us? Must we all become vegetarians to be secure? Wouldn't bother me but I suspect it would be a major change for most of the US population.

 

For that matter, I suspect that India's population is thnking the same thing. A huge percentage of them depend entirely on home raised food. We have been lucky so far and have managed to be on the other side of the world from this terrible menace. It is unrealistic to believe it will stay there forever.

 

We think of ourselves as exempt from drastic possiblities simply because we are supposedly a nation of enlightened, educated people with a government that will "DO" something about it. I'm sure they will try but has anyone looked at the numbers of immigrants lately that might not be as educated? Has anyone looked at our national debt lately? Has anyone seen where the most of our national guard is at this point? Those are the people who would most likely be called out to help cull and etc when that disaster hits here. The cost to the country could be disasterous in itself not only in cost to the government, and therefore to us, but in loss of more of our dwindling economy not to mention our protein sources. We are not immune by any means.

 

Perhaps it's time for Mrs. S members to revisit the precautions and to have a discussion, in light of this new possibility, on how we might insulate ourselves and our livestock and supplies from this disease.

 

Can you tell that I'm extremely concerned about this coming to our country? To be honest, all these things are possible but more possible and more likely will be that the H5N1 will come to us already in HtoH form by the means of an airplane. We need to be prepared for that as well.

 

By the way, Thailand has just had another outbreak of bird flu in their northern provences also.

 

((( )))

[Cowgirl]

I'm very concerned. If this stuff can affect other mammals, then there is no way to purge it. Even IF we eradicated all domesticated mammals, dogs and cats included, this scenario would mean that there would be a huge reservoir of infection in the wild mammal populations - the deer, raccoons (which dine on birds extensively), skunks (which also dine on birds and are already a reservoir of rabies), etc. I could eliminate all non-human mammals on my place, and I'd still be surrounded by potential vectors in the forest around me. So going "veggie" is not a realistic option for me, anyway - it would offer no real protection, though it would probably please the PETA/ALF folks to no end - after all, such draconian measures would mean the end to "animal slavery".

 

There is a ray of hope here. There are reports that humans who get their annual flu shots are seemingly more immune to H5N1 and are not dying of it. IF this proves to be true, and IF there is some preventive in having flu shots, even if those shots are not yet H5N1 specific, then there may also be hope for our livestock. For example, horses are already susceptible to flu, and mine get their flu shots annually (as do I). Perhaps those shots will offer some protection, as they may in humans. It may be that when I vaccinate the horses, I'll vaccinate the goats and dogs also, just to add a small measure of safety. Too, one can look at vaccinating one's poultry on the same theory - even if you don't have access to the H5N1 poultry vaccine, there are other flu vaccines for poultry. Again, it MIGHT make any outbreak on your place less deadly, for the critters, and for you. It is an iffy theory at best, I realize - but something to ponder.

[nmchick]

PCS, just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate you and all the info you find for us.

 

I guess I knew this, but it's getting even more clear to me that it's not a matter of "if", but "when".

 

 

 

[Mother]

Flu vacines are not proven to be effective against the H5N1. That is technically only a theory AND the theory came from the big Pharma that sells the products. In fact, they are fiding that most flu vaccines are a gamble at best as to whether they will even be effective against the particular flu in any given area.

 

My trust took a real nose dive when President Bush told us that we all needed to get a flu shot BECAUSE it would give the pharmaceutical companies encentatives and more money to keep them manufacturing it so that WHEN the bird flu came they would be able to work on one for that also. Now, in my mind that is saying, we need to support the pharmaceutical companies with our MONEY so that they can make MORE money. That entire statement just did not make sense. We are already grossely manipulated by the 'health' industry as it is and now they have presidential backing?

 

I will wait until the 'theory' is confirmed before I decide to vascinate everything on my property, myself included. They already have vacines for poultry that supposedly keeps them from getting sick but it is also not proven to work. It's not that I am totally against vacines. They have done a lot of good in the world to stop or slow terrible diseases and modern medicine has gone a long way towards offering life prolonging measures but they've made very little strides in actually curing anything and in improving the health of the individual. It is not profitable to cure anything or to make the nation healthier. THAT is what bothers me. It's all about money. When you show me where a big Pharma co. has offered their product at cost in order to save the world I might reconsider.

 

(Sorry, one of my pet peeves. I'll go be good now)

 

((( )))

[The MacKinnon]

While not discounting these reports at all, we need to factor in another element or two.

 

There are political forces that want to cull human populations. I've seen it in socialist literature since 1968 and really you can trace it further - to the late 1800s and the 'eugenics' movement. In fact, culling human populations was a driving force in the abolitionist movement in the 1850s and beyond (sorry if you think 9 of 10 abolitionists were being noble back then).

 

There are a lot of politically active small farmers I know of who smell a rat with this bird flu thing; that on deeper examination there is evidence to support a concern that this will lead to the demise and perhaps criminalization of the small farmer (illegal to have chickens, ducks,and then other food producing animals) which will leave us at the mercy of Tyson, Con-Agra, etc. It's not just the big pharmaceutical companies that stand to make money.

 

This is not to imply that there isn't a serious problem here or that bird flu is some sort of scam. But we also have to consider that these reports are coming from sources that may have another agenda. And if these accounts are indeed accurate, how will TPTB take advantage?

 

I will post links for sources and thoughts on this shortly.

[Cowgirl]

OK, I'm not here to beat the drum for drug companies. I will only state that my family lost one of my uncles to a now preventable-through-vaccine childhood illness. When I was a young mother and folks were beating the anti-vaccination drum, I got my son his vaccinations anyway, thinking of the missing uncle in my life. There are risks in EVERYTHING in life, but I think vaccines are less risky than the diseases they HELP prevent (nothing in life is 100%). Yes, I know that vaccines carry their own risks, and that vaccines are imperfect. But they also carry benefits that I'm not willing to discount. I cannot ignore the uncle missing from my life, after all.

 

Too, I have, many years, gotten my flu shots. Are they 100% effective? Probably not. There have been years I've not gotten my shots, and I've gotten flu. But I can say that I've NEVER had a horrible case of the flu since I started getting the vaccinations like I had as a child, before the vaccinations were available. I got so sick as a child that I was hallucinating from high fever, and my breathing was not good. My doctor did not want me hospitalized, as he feared that the hospitalization would kill me. Instead, he instructed my Mom on how to care for me. THAT was nasty flu, and I was sick for nearly two weeks. Since I've gotten flu shots, no case of the flu has ever caused me to miss more than a couple of days work - the flu has become like a really bad cold - nothing so severe as what I had that first time.

 

I do not know that the reports of possible partial flu immunity come from drug companies, or another source. I'm not going to rely on that as my sole prep, certainly. But I feel it is something to pursue investigating, along with considering other avenues of trying to shore up our defenses here at home as best we can.

 

But everyone's feelings about vaccines and their risks vary, and I've seen "wars" break out on discussion lists over the issue, so I won't belabor the issue further here.

 

 

[Mother]

Cowgirl is right, wars have been fought over this debate. I ride the fence on this one, having had a bad and lasting experience with a vaccine when young but the real issue here is not if we should or should not have the vaccines or IF it will give immunity to the Bird flu. The real issues we need to discuss is ALL of this. We need more info on those vaccines. We need to revisit info on preparing sick rooms and on sanitation and we need some discussion on other possible ways to protect ourselves and our animals.

 

Personally I belive the regular flu vaccine as a possible means of protection is a valid and viable one the "war" notwithstanding. We need to be open to ALL ways of protecting ourselves but we need to be informed in our decisions. This is a bird flu forum, lets not make it a war zone on all vaccines or issues, lets go for the meat. Let's see if we can come up with some concrete evidence either way. With this looming ever closer, NOW is the time we get busy and DO something before it's too late even if that is a year or more from now.

 

I'm not sure this thread should abe hyjacked though so perhaps we should start a couple more here in the forum. One for if you find any research on vaccines and the bird flu that is NOT funded by the drug company or other factions that might profit.

 

Perhaps we need to bump up a few posts from the past to study anew and perhaps we need to add some new info for physical ways to protect from the disease.

 

I believe this thread has brought to the front, something that had been lost in the debates over candidacy and economics. Let's revive it.

 

((( )))

[PureCajunSunshine]

This is not the only eyewitness commentary...but it is a typical one.

 

If you would like a closer look at the situation in India, there is a large (296 posts so far), well documented thread that has been cooking at CurEvents since 1/14/08, in reference to the 'bird flu problem' in India. It is just as chilling as the situation in Indonesia...

 

( http://www.curevents.com/vb/showthread.php?t=88075 )

 

 

[PureCajunSunshine]

Originally Posted By: Mother

...the real issue here is not if we should or should not have the vaccines or IF it will give immunity to the Bird flu. The real issues we need to discuss is ALL of this. We need more info on those vaccines. We need to revisit info on preparing sick rooms and on sanitation and we need some discussion on other possible ways to protect ourselves and our animals.

Personally I belive the regular flu vaccine as a possible means of protection is a valid and viable one the "war" notwithstanding. We need to be open to ALL ways of protecting ourselves but we need to be informed in our decisions. This is a bird flu forum, lets not make it a war zone on all vaccines or issues, lets go for the meat. Let's see if we can come up with some concrete evidence either way. With this looming ever closer, NOW is the time we get busy and DO something before it's too late even if that is a year or more from now.

+100 to what dear Mother said! (WELL PUT!!)

[PureCajunSunshine]

Thanks, nmchick. I can't help but think that with all the threats that face our families...economic collapse, terrorism, widespread crime, the list goes on...none are as daunting as a global influenza pandemic.

 

Even with heroic measures such as social distancing, we really can't completely hide from this particular monster. Wild birds poop everywhere...animals and people may unknowingly step in it and leave an invisible and viable trail of destruction behind (however shortlived it may be). Our gardens are not even as 'safe' as we'd like to think.

 

Yep, this forum is very, very important...

[highdesertgirl]

I agree Mother that this is becoming very serious news re: India, Bangladesh and Indonesia...not to mention Egypt, Vietnam,etc. The site http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/ has a good news synopsis. I read there that scientists are surprised to find seasonal flu virus is becoming resistant to Tamiflu now.

To protect your place from incoming visitors - how do you disinfect arriving vehicles? Do they drive thru a culvert with a bleach solution? I know some places do this to protect their goats from CAE, etc.

I'm seriously stocking up now!