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Bird flu spreads in West Bengal

Special Correspondent

Culling teams increased from 60 to 200, to be doubled soon

— Photo: AP

Death in the backyard: A boy holds a dead chicken under the watchful eyes of a health official at Majharipara village in West Bengal on Sunday.

Kolkata: The bird flu outbreak spread to yet another district in West Bengal even as culling operations continued for the fifth day on Sunday amid reports of fresh deaths of poultry birds in new areas.

“It has been confirmed that the disease has spread to one block in Bankura district and there have been reports of it affecting fresh areas in the worst-hit districts of Birbhum and Murshidabad districts,” Minister for Animal Resources Development Anisur Rahaman told The Hindu over telephone from Murshidabad district.

“While some of the affected areas have been brought under control bird flu has affected new areas,” he added.

In all 18 blocks besides a municipality area and a state-run poultry farm, have been affected by the disease in six districts.

Culling operations in the five districts of Birbhum, South Dinajpur, Burdwan, Nadia and Murshidabad are continuing in full swing, the Minister said.

More than 55,000 chickens have been culled in South Dinajpur alone, district officials added.

The State Government has set a target of over four lakh poultry birds to be culled in the next few days. “To meet the target we have increased the number of culling teams from the 60 initially set up to nearly 200 and intend to double the figure in a day or two”, Mr. Rahaman said.

The State authorities have called for culling operations in areas reporting unusual mortality rates among birds without waiting for test results from the High Security Animal Diseases Laboratory, Bhopal, Mr. Rahaman said. There have been reports of deaths from South 24 Parganas and North Dinajpur districts.

A team of veterinary doctors is arriving from Assam and if required additional specialists will be brought in from elsewhere to assist the local health workers and those belonging to the Animal Resources Development department, the Minister said.

A dealer in poultry products allegedly committed suicide. His body was found in the English Bazar area of Malda in the morning amid suspicions that he took the extreme step fearing that the outbreak in adjoining South Dinajpur district would badly hit his business. Police were investigating.

Though the authorities have been urging people in the affected areas to hand over their poultry birds being reared in backyard farms for culling operations, many continue to be reluctant.

Four members of a culling team were allegedly assaulted by villagers after a culling operation in the Nalhati municipality area of Birbhum district on Saturday evening. They have been admitted to a local sub-divisional hospital.

Surveillance up in other States

New Delhi Special Correspondent reports

The West Bengal Government on Saturday sent 79 more samples to the High Security Animal Diseases Laboratory at Bhopal.

As a precautionary measure, the Centre has increased surveillance in Jharkhand, Orissa, Bihar and the north-eastern States.

Fresh samples were lifted from Howrah, South 24 Parganas, Hooghly, Kolkata, Burdwan, Bankura, Nadia, Malda, Pashim Midnapore and Birbhum districts, according to the Department of Animal Husbandry here.

The samples from Bankura have tested positive for bird flu as also additional ones sent from Nadia, Birbhum and Murshidabad.

As per the latest information received here, 98,254 poultry birds have died in Birbhum, Dakshin Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Nadia, South 24 Parganas, Burdwan and Bankura districts.

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