CALCUTTA, India, Jan 22, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Indian Health Minister
Anbumani Ramadoss said Tuesday there is no confirmation of humans being affected
by the chicken avian flu outbreak in West Bengal state.
Ramadoss , however, suggested delay by the government in the eastern state may
have contributed to the spread of the disease to several districts, the Press
Trust of India reported.
"Initially there was a delay of nearly a week's time for notices to be sent to
us, but now things have been put on track," Ramadoss was quoted as saying,
adding the situation "could have been handled better."
He said a screening to determine if any humans were affected was conducted in
all the affected areas.
"There is no reason to be concerned about any human cases of bird flu," he said.
The outbreak has now spread from the initial two to seven districts and the
state government has been told to speed up daily culling in those districts to
300,000 birds for the next seven days, the report said.
Federal authorities said culling operations would be carried out by up to 600
experts.
The BBC reported culling is being further hampered by the fact that many
chickens roam freely in the open and must be physically chased and caught before
being killed.
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