Chicken off the menu as bird flu scare spreads to New Delhi

P. Jayaram, Straits Times 2 Feb 08;

Poultry prices and demand drop after rumour of infection in nearby states

NEW DELHI - THE bird flu scare has spread to the Indian capital, with chicken and egg prices tumbling and chicken dishes being taken off menus in some New Delhi restaurants, following fears of outbreaks in two neighbouring states.

Chicken was selling at 35 rupees (S$1.25) yesterday - about half the usual price - while boards with the words 'chicken not served' appeared outside some restaurants.

It is a scene that is becoming increasingly common in many states in India.

In Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal - the worst-hit state - the demand for poultry has dropped so much that some poultry sellers are giving away vegetables to encourage people to buy their chicken.

Egg consumption there has dropped from five million a day to negligible levels.

Prices and demand have dropped in places as far as Mumbai, and concerns over India's eggs have hit its exports, which suffered a 50 per cent drop in the past two weeks.

While there has been no report of the bird flu having spread to humans in India, the fear of contracting the disease has prompted many to give up chicken temporarily.

'We are off chicken. You just can't afford to take a risk,' said Dr Yadu Raj, an agricultural scientist.

The scare in New Delhi was set off by reports of scores of chickens dying in a farm in nearby Haryana state.

Though the state government has informed the federal authorities that samples from the farm, tested locally, were negative for the virus, it has been advised to send the samples to the main testing facility in Bhopal, in central India.

There were also reports that 2,500 chickens had been illegally transported by rail from West Bengal to Uttar Pradesh, another state adjacent to New Delhi.

In West Bengal, nearly 2.8 million chickens in 14 affected districts - out of a total of 19 - have been slaughtered since an H5N1 outbreak was first reported there last month.

West Bengal's Health Minister Suryakanta Mishra said door-to-door surveillance was being carried out in all the affected areas to check if any person had been infected by the virus.

Senior officials said the Indian government is planning to create a 'protective ring' around West Bengal to check the spread of the disease, by culling poultry in four neighbouring states. It has so far identified border areas in the states of Jharkand, Orissa, Bihar and Assam that fall within a 5km radius of West Bengal.

The region is still fighting to control the spread, with Indonesia yesterday reporting its 102nd death from bird flu.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM XINHUA