Fresh outbreak of bird flu reported in Bengal

A fresh outbreak of bird flu was reported from Murshidabad district of West Bengal on Friday, prompting the authorities to launch a culling operation, as the Union health ministry rushed a central team to the state.

Culling of poultry began at Khargram and Nabagram areas of the district, which were the worst-affected when the avian flu hit the state last year. Over 1,000 chicken and ducks have died in the two blocks in the past few days, officials said.

The health ministry has sent a three-member team to the state, comprising a member from the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital and two researchers from the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Kolkata, ministry sources said. Murshidabad District Magistrate Parvez A Siddiqui said samples of dead fowl have been sent to a laboratory in Bhopal which has confirmed that those were affected by bird flu.

Chief Medical Officer of the district, Subhas Mondol, said extra beds had been set up at hospitals in Khargram and Kandi in case the disease spreads among humans. Among the other affected areas are Indrani, Kirtipur, Parulia, Jaipur and Margram. Culling operations started from Thursday night and will be intensified, he said.