“We sent the samples of the child from Malda twice to National Institute of Virology Pune for genomic sequencing. The test in March confirmed the presence of H9N2 strain of avian influenza, which has a very low capability of human-to-human transmission. The follow-up test in April showed the child was no more positive to the virus,” said state principal health secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam on Thursday, clearing the air about bird flu incidence in Bengal. The affected child, a resident of Kaliachak, was treated both at Malda Medical College and NRS Medical College for respiratory illness. Samples of the child’s family members as well as close contacts were also tested and none was found positive to the virus. A health team visited the Malda locality on Thursday for another round of surveillance.
Officials said tests on samples of birds, like chicken and duck, were also being conducted and so far, no trace of avian influenza was found. “We have analysed 390 bird samples from Malda and avian influenza was found in none. Bengal has a strong surveillance system under which, we collect 30,000 serum samples every year from across the state and test them at the lab at Institute of Animal Health and Veterinary Biologicals in Belgachhia. Between April and June, 1,728 samples were tested and none was positive to avian influenza,” said Vivek Kumar, additional chief secretary, ARD department. Of those samples, 30% were also sent to National Institute of High Security Animal Disease Bhopal for re-evaluation and the results again showed no presence of avian influenza. “There is no scope for confusion or fear. There is no need for advisory on restricting the consumption of chicken, egg or duck meat,” added Kumar.
Another child, a resident of Melbourne, had tested positive to avian influenza in May, after returning there with H5N1 strain. “We held active surveillance by a multidisciplinary team in that locality, which the child visited in Kolkata in Feb. None of his contacts tested positive to the virus. There is no trace of human-to-human transmission. There is no reason to panic,” added Nigam.
