The three-year-old child’s case was only the second human case of bird flu subtype H9N2 detected in India. The first was reported in 2019.

The father, who spoke to The Indian Express on condition of anonymity, said their ordeal began in January, when the child complained of severe abdominal pain. This was followed by a fever and other flu-like symptoms. A local hospital referred the case to Malda Medical College, from where it was eventually referred to the Nil Ratan Sircar (NRS) Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.

“It has been a tough year,” said the father, who has taken loans and sold his valuables to cover the costs of medicine and other expenses. He said he spent around Rs 5 lakh so far.

After the child was first discharged from hospital in February, the father said, the symptoms returned within a couple of days. The child had to be readmitted and then moved from Malda to NRS hospital in Kolkata.

The father then stayed for months at the attendants’ shelter at the Kolkata hospital.

“It was not possible for me to travel from Malda to Kolkata on a regular basis, so I stayed in the hospital’s shelter, spending Rs 75 a day. My wife stayed with our daughter. Doctors told me that she was infected by some bird virus,” the father said.

The case history is as follows: The child was initially diagnosed with a condition affecting the airways after presenting symptoms such as fever and abdominal pain in late January. Shortly after, the child experienced seizures and severe breathing problems, leading to admission in an ICU in early February. Tests revealed infections with influenza B and adenovirus.

The child was discharged at the end of February, but soon faced severe breathing problems again. After being admitted to another ICU in early March, tests showed infections with influenza A and rhinovirus. By late April, the specific type of influenza A was identified as H9N2.

The child was discharged on May 8 with oxygen support.

“We are taking precautions and making the child take ample rest. There are still complaints of breathlessness, so we give oxygen support at home,” the father said.

He had no clue regarding how his child could have got the virus. The World Health Organisation says the patient would have had exposure to poultry at home or surrounding areas. “We don’t have a poultry farm,” he said, and no one in the family or the surrounding areas have reported symptoms of bird flu.

Most human cases of infection with avian influenza A(H9N2) viruses come from exposure to the virus through contact with infected poultry or contaminated environments. Human infection usually results in mild clinical illness. However, globally, there have been some cases of hospitalisation and two cases of deaths reported in the past.

Also, in some cases, beyond respiratory issues, avian influenza in humans can cause eye infections (conjunctivitis), gastrointestinal problems, and even brain-related conditions like encephalitis and encephalopathy.

According to officials, a team comprising personnel from the Public Health Department and Animal Resource Development Department has been sent to Malda for surveillance.

On Thursday, Vivek Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary at the Animal Resource Development (ARD) Department, and Narayan Swarup Nigam, Principal Secretary at the Department of Health and Family Welfare held a joint press conference on the issue.

“ARD Department is conducting surveillance. No animal has died in any poultry farm. There is no restriction on poultry, and there is no advisory on the consumption of chicken, duck, or eggs,” Vivek Kumar said.

“The state government has an advanced sample testing facility at Belgachia. Many samples were tested at this place, and 30 per cent of the samples were sent to the Central government institute at Bhopal. They also found no signs of bird flu. In April-May, 1,728 samples were tested in the state and 390 from Malda, and no bird flu was found (in them),” he said.

Narayan Swarup Nigam said the one case reported from Malda was fine now, although “the source of the infection is not yet known”.

Chief Medical Officer of Malda, Sudipta Bhaduri, said there was no need for panic and that the illness contracted by the child was not transmissible from human to human.

Officials said that while contact tracing was done in the case, none of the contacts were found to have the infection.