1500 Pigeons Die at Kamakhya Mandir

February 25, 2004

Mystery Disease Kills

1500 Pigeons In India

news.com.au

2-25-4

GAUHATI, India (AP) -- Some 1500 pigeons at a Hindu temple in

northeastern India have dropped dead in the past six days, a priest

said today, but veterinarians deny the mystery disease could be a

strain of avian flu.

"The birds get disoriented all of a sudden, start rolling their

heads, fall to the ground and then die," said Bholanath Sarma, a

priest at the hilltop Kamakhya Temple at Gauhati, capital of Assam

state.

Abdul Mukit, a government veterinarian dealing with the crisis, said

the pigeons may be suffering from a bacterial infection due to

exposure to the cold.

No cases of the avian flu have been reported in India, including the

country's northeast, which borders China, Burma, Bhutan and

Bangladesh.

However, as a precaution, authorities in the seven northeastern

states have ordered border guards to ban the import or smuggling of

poultry and poultry products from across the borders.

At least 10 Asian countries and territories have been hit by an

avian flu outbreak, which has killed 22 people in Thailand and

Vietnam. Some 100 million birds have died or culled to battle the

disease.

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