Bird Flu Resurfaces in Asia

Bird flu has resurfaced in parts of Asia, with human deaths reported in Indonesia and China along with Myanmar confirming its first case and fresh poultry outbreaks plaguing other countries during the winter months when the virus typically flares.

India the West Bengal state is the worst hit so far, with the virus spreading to neighboring state Delhi & UP in addition to other parts of India as well. 

Around 50,000 birds have been culled in West Bengal since Wednesday to combat bird flu even as health workers fanned out in rural areas of the affected region to meet the target of slaughtering 400,000 poultry birds.
Bangladesh has been identified as the source of outbreak of bird flu in south Dinajpur, one of the two affected districts in West Bengal, a senior Animal Husbandry official said.

''The germs were brought by winds blowing from Bangladesh,'' Assistant Commissioner of the Central Animal Husbandry department Sujit Dutta said in Balurghat, the headquarters of south Dinajpur.

India is not fighting alone and has been supported by the US; so far they are committed to increase funds to fight avian influenza. Currently, it has donated $434 million and India is expected to receive a substantial amount as well.
In Indonesia this year Bird flu raises death toll rises to 97; the country has recorded human bird flu deaths regularly since 2003, when the virus began ravaging poultry stocks across Asia. Scientists have warned that Indonesia, which has millions of backyard chickens and poor medical facilities, is a potential hot spot for a global bird flu pandemic.

The H5N1 virus causes a type of influenza in birds that is highly contagious and can be deadly. It does not usually infect people unless they come in close contact with infected birds or contaminated surfaces.