Bird flu in Tripura

H5 strains of Avian Influenza, popularly known as Bird Flu, have been confirmed in the North-Eastern state of Tripura. Tests on poultry samples collected from government duck farm, in RK Nagar in Agartala, have confirmed the presence of the virus. The tests were conducted by ERDDL, Kolkata and High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL), Bhopal, The government has decided to commence the culling of birds and destruction of eggs and feed material so as to control further spread of the disease. It has also been decided that the entire poultry will be culled within a radius of 3 km of the focus of infection. Surveillance will be carried out over a further radius up to 10 km, an official statement said.