# 1514
The see-saw reporting out of India continues. Officially everything is under control, there are no human cases, and that the government is responding appropriately.
Most of the observers on the ground have a far less optimistic story to tell.
This from news.com.au.
India faces bird flu 'disaster'
By Sailendra Sil in Kolkata
January 22, 2008 08:12pm
Article from: Agence France-Presse
INDIA'S worst ever outbreak of the virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu could turn into a disaster, an official warned, as five people were reportedly quarantined with symptoms of the virus.
Eight districts in the eastern state of West Bengal have been hit by the virus, with dead birds being sold to locals who are said to be "feasting" on cheap chicken.
The state's animal resources minister, Anisur Rahaman, said authorities were "determined to cull all poultry in the districts in three or four days, otherwise the state will face a disaster".
More than 100,000 bird deaths have been reported, and teams are racing to cull two million chickens and ducks.
The Times of India reported five people in West Bengal have been quarantined with "clinical symptoms" of avian flu - including fever, coughing, sore throats and muscle aches - after handling affected poultry.
If the tests are positive for H5N1, this will be the first case of human infection in India, home to 1.1 billion people and hit by bird flu among poultry three times since 2006.
Health officials in New Delhi said they were currently analysing blood samples from close to 150 people who have complained of fever.
On the ground, culling teams have been facing an uphill battle with villagers smuggling birds out of flu affected areas and selling them in open markets.
<snip>
Neighbouring Nepal, which has banned poultry imports from India since 2006, said its border posts were on high alert.
Bangladesh, which also borders West Bengal, was meanwhile battling its own serious outbreak - with experts warning the situation was far worse than the government was letting on.
"Bird flu is now everywhere. Every day we have reports of birds dying in farms," said leading poultry expert and the treasurer of Bangladesh Poultry Association MM Khan.
"Things are now very, very serious and public health is under danger.
"The government is trying to suppress the whole scenario,'' Mr Khan said, adding that farmers were also holding back from reporting cases.
While government officials are whirling Dervishly hoping to spin this story, reporters on the ground, and residents of West Bengal all seem to hold a different view. Words like `horrible' and `disaster' keep popping up in the headlines.
The persistent undercurrent is that things are far worse than the government is willing to admit.
The numbers we get from these stories are rarely consistent. In the last report, `all 5 human samples taken in West Bengal tested negative'. In this story, there are 150 samples in the queue.
I've no idea which number (if either) are correct, but I tend to believe the number has to be closer to 150 than to 5.
All we have available to gauge the situation on the ground in West Bengal are official statements and independent news report. Right now, those seem to be at odds.
Divining the truth from all of these conflicting sources may take some time.
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