The initial reports of bird flu among the poultry population in this part of West Bengal’s Birbhum district galvanised the top district administration into holding a series of meetings through Monday, even as villagers remained unaware of the causes and feasted on chicken curry to make the best of a huge loss.

Abhijit Roychoudhury, block medical officer of health (BMOH) of the affected Rampurhat Block II, said: “We have been informed that, after primary screening, H5N1 virus has been identified. We are taking a number of measures. A medical team is being prepared.”

“Already Tamiflu drugs are here. Now it is up to union government to notify the area as affected by H5N1. We will take action after the notification,” Roychoudhury said after a after a marathon meeting with district officials and doctors. Tamiflu is the standard antiviral drug used for H5N1 infections in humans.

The Union government has sent two experts from the Institute of Communicable Diseases to the area. The experts met with medical officers who were brought to Margram from several parts of the district.

Although the state government’s alert reached the district magistrate on Sunday evening, ground staff of the animal husbandry and resources development department were yet to be sent into action and villagers were alerted to the seriousness of the situation only by the appearance of media.

Officials of the animal resources development department had collected samples from Margram I and Margram II gram panchayat areas under Rampurhat Block II on

January 8 and sent them for testing to the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal.

On Sunday evening, the Bhopal lab sent a message to the state government confirming the presence of the bird flue virus.

The district’s chief medical officer of health (CMOH), Sunil Kumar Bhowmick, said: “Preliminary tests have confirmed that this is bird flu. It has already been reported to the district administration. An isolation ward has been opened in Rampurhat hospital.

With around 15,000 birds estimated to have died since December 29, when the first reports of unusual deaths surfaced here, dead birds lie all over the landscape and no steps were visible to contain the spread of the virus — which shows itself first by causing drowsiness in the hens in the morning and completes its job by evening.

The block livestock development officer (BLDO) of Margram II, Debrup Roy, said: “I came to know only today.”

In fact, till Sunday evening, a shop opposite the block office was selling chicken meat.

The organised poultry sector has not been affected so far, since there are no major hatcheries here. The H5NI avian influenza virus, which can be lethal for humans as well, has hit the population of free-range birds reared in almost every household in the area of Birbhum district bordering Murshidabad.

Villagers, most of them farmers, rear livestock as well as the free-range `desi’ murgi, with their distinctive bright feathers, for sale in the local haat or for their eggs.

The bird flu attack has hit the villagers economically, but, used to attacks of less dangerous Ranikhet disease, they have been killing the ailing birds and cooking them.

Kazem Sheik of Begumpara in Margram, has lost all his 40-odd birds over the last 12 days.

“Initially, we had a lot of chicken curry,” said Sheikh. “Now we have only one hen left.”

Gaffar Sheikh, one such villager, said his wife made some chicken curry on Sunday, which their children had for lunch. The couple had planned to have the curry for dinner, but the children fell ill at night with bouts of diarrhoea.

Their illness is not linked to bird flu, but the medical officer said those handling blood or droppings of the affected birds are in danger of contracting the virus.

Meershad Sheikh, another villager in Margram II, lost around 15 birds and has only hen left with its chicks.