New Delhi (dpa) - Indian authorities Tuesday confirmed an outbreak
of avian influenza in the eastern state of West Bengal.
The government said local agencies had been notified about the
outbreak in the affected area located in the central district of
Nadia.
The government also ordered culling, the Ministry of Agriculture
said.
The ministry said poultry samples collected from two villages in
the district had tested positive for bird flu.
Culling was announced within a radius of three kilometres of the
infected area. Surveillance was ordered in surrounding areas up to 10
kilometres away.
The last outbreak of bird-flu in India occurred in February in the
remote north-eastern state of Tripura. The country was declared free
from the disease on July 4.
India has seen major outbreaks of bird flu since 2007 but not yet
reported any cases of human infections with the H5N1 virus.
Copyright 2011 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH