An outbreak of the H5N1 virus in India in 2006 negatively affected the people living in the area, as the poultry industry was their main source of income at the time. Soon after many birds were reported dead in the village of Navapur, in the Nandurbar district of

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

, the government intervened, first confirming the presence of the bird flu and then destroying numerous birds to control the spread of the virus. Residents felt the government overreacted, believing the government had wrongly attributed the reason for the bird deaths; had unnecessarily disrupted their main source of income; and did not compensate them properly for the government's destruction of the birds. Residents also believed that the media caused unnecessary panic over the incident. The government denied any over-reaction to the flu outbreak and stated that they had enough

Tamiflu Oseltamivir, sold under the brand name Tamiflu among others, is an antiviral medication used to treat and prevent influenza A and influenza B, viruses that cause the flu. Many medical organizations recommend it in people who have complicati ...

vaccine to protect the Indian population.

Initial reaction

The first reports of bird flu in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

came from the village of Navapur in the Nandurbar district of

on 19 February 2006. Villagers reported many bird deaths in the village. Maharashtra State Animal Husbandry Ministry authorities rushed to the spot. Lab analysis proved that the poultry was indeed affected with the

H5N1 Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 (A/H5N1) is a subtype of the influenza A virus, which causes the disease avian influenza (often referred to as "bird flu"). It is enzootic (maintained in the population) in many bird populations, and also panzoo ...

virus.

Government response

Soon after the presence of the virus was confirmed culling operations began. 253,000 birds and 587,000 eggs were destroyed within five days. Villagers who were exhibiting flu-like symptoms were quarantined and kept under observation. Blood samples from 150 persons were sent to the National Institute of Virology,

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

, for analysis. Movement of people into the area was strictly regulated and passenger trains were instructed not to halt at Navapur. Governments of states which border Maharashtra banned the import of poultry from the latter. Some other state governments such as those of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

and Jammu and Kashmir also introduced similar restrictions. The

government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

asked pharmaceutical companies such as Cipla to manufacture anti-flu medication. The Government also started stockpiling

. The

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

was set on alert to aid in evacuation operations and drug-distribution measures.

Grievances of locals

The

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...

industry is the main source of income for the people of Nawapur who claimed the Government is overreacting. According to them, the cause of the bird deaths was in fact the seasonal Ranikhet disease and not bird-flu. They alleged that the compensation guaranteed to them by the government after culling had not been handed to them. They also said the media created an unnecessary clamour over the incident.

Economic impact

Prices of chicken products across India plummeted resulting in a steep rise in the prices of

mutton Lamb and mutton, collectively sheep meat (or sheepmeat) is one of the most common meats around the world, taken from the domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries'', and generally divided into lamb, from sheep in their first year, hogget, from sheep in thei ...

and fish. The poultry industry was expected to lose hundreds of millions of rupees because of this. Airlines including

Air India Air India is the flag carrier of India with its main hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, and secondary hubs at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, alo ...

, Jet Airways, Indian Airlines and

Kingfisher Airlines Kingfisher Airlines Limited was an airline group based in India. It was established in 2003 and started its commercial operations in 2005. Through its parent company United Breweries Group, it had a 50% stake in low-cost carrier Kingfisher Red. ...

took chicken off their in-flight menus.

Official response

Both the state and central governments denied any overreaction. The centre said it had enough supplies of

and that there was no cause for worry.

References