Not the right strategy

The blanket ban on the trade and movement of chickens, ducks and eggs in West Bengal, though intended to curb the spread of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu infection, is unlikely to achieve the objective unless all infection-carrier birds are culled and disposed of properly. Unfortunately, that is not happening in West Bengal. The trade ban will only add to the woes of poultry owners, especially the relatively poor backyard poultry-keepers, who account for most of the state's poultry sector, without any reduction in the infection load. The real problem in West Bengal, apart from the administrative lapses, is that the backyard poultry-owners have not been cooperating in the culling operations for want of prompt and adequate payment of compensation. Though the state government has announced a marginal hike in the compensation, this is unlikely to go down well with poultry-keepers, who foresee a prolonged disruption of the poultry business in view of the mandatory three-month gap in re-stocking after culling.

The West Bengal fiasco has increased the risk of the bird flu spreading to other states. Not learning from this experience, the Centre has now come up with a bird flu containment strategy that is technically ill-conceived and operationally impractical. It has issued a directive to kill all poultry birds in a 5-km belt surrounding West Bengal. This panic-driven decision has, obviously, been taken without weighing other, more realistic and equally effective options. Indeed, the chances of success for culling operations in such an extensive area are all the more dim as the governments of most of the states concerned, notably those of Jharkhand, Orissa and Bihar, have already expressed their reluctance to kill healthy birds. Assam, though already in the process of destroying poultry birds in Kokrajhar and Bhuri areas as a precautionary measure, is unlikely to extend culling operations to the entire border belt. Besides, the cooperation of poultry owners in these states cannot be taken for granted.

In view of all this, the "ring vaccination" that involves immunisation of all birds in the specified belt in order to create the buffer zone, seems a better option to killing birds. Apart from being cost-effective, as it will not involve compensation payments, the vaccination of healthy birds will not be resisted by bird owners. Nor will it lead to any disruption in poultry production. Ring vaccination, notably, is part of the bird flu containment action plan approved by the World Animal Health Organisation and accepted as such by India.

What is most important is to appreciate that the country is beset with a formidable menace that needs to be dealt with better than has been done so far. The H5N1 virus can be fatal, and is persistent. That is why it has perpetuated itself in one country or other for almost five years now, annihilating millions of poultry birds and a few hundred human beings as well. At most places where the outbreaks have been widespread and recurring, the combination of culling and vaccination has proved more effective than culling alone. This is what is needed in India as well.