No threat of avian influenza in West Bengal, says official

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 13 (ANI): Amid reports of bird flu in West Bengal, West Bengal Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, Narayan Swaroop Nigam on Thursday said that there is no threat of avian influenza in the state and no advisory issued against consuming poultry products.
"The situation is absolutely normal... There is no need for any kind of panic. There is no threat of avian influenza in the state and there is no threat and no advisory regarding the non-consumption of poultry products," Nigam said.

He also mentioned that there have been a couple of cases where some history of the virus has been detected, H9N2 and H5N1. However, there have been no instances of transmission from human to human or bird to human.
"There have been some reports in the different media channels, as it is in print media that there has been incidence of bird flu in West Bengal. There have been a couple of cases where some history of the virus being detected, H9N2 and H5N1 but as such we have done a very active surveillance both among the human species among the contacts as well as among the poultry birds and the birds nearby and there is no such incidence of any kind of transmission either from human to human or bird to human," he added.
Earlier this week, the World Health Organisation confirmed a human case of bird flu in India, after the H9N2 virus was detected in a four-year-old child in West Bengal.
Overall, this is the second human infection of avian influenza A (H9N2) notified to WHO from India, with the first being done in 2019.
The child has recovered and was discharged from the hospital.
WHO received a notification from the International Health Regulations (IHR) National Focal Point (NFP) for India, regarding a human case of avian influenza A(H9N2) virus infection in West Bengal, the health body said in a press release. (ANI)