Third district hit by bird flu

Bird flu has spread to the Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, as the High Security Animal Diseases Laboratory (HSADL) in Bhopal has tested positive for H5N1 virus in blood samples of birds sent to the laboratory about tow days ago.

According to Anisur Rahaman, animal resources development minister of West Bengal, culling operations would begin in the district tomorrow, after at the district administration decides upon the actual population of birds in the area.

The culling operations would last for three days, the minister said. Meanwhile, representatives of the state animal resources development have rushed to Delhi for an emergency meeting with bureaucrats at the Central level to discuss ways to check the bird flu outbreak.

"We are taking all steps prescribed by the Central government for controlling the spread of the disease. I do not know why the disease is spreading, in spite of all the precautionary measures taken by us," Rahaman said.

Jalpaiguri became the third district to be declared bird flu-hit for the second time after Malda and Murshidabad, with death of 112 chicken reported from its Sadar sub-division.

The deaths occurred among backyard poultry in Boalmari under Jalpaiguri Sadar sub-division, Banamali Roy of Jalpaiguri Zilla Parishad said.

The district administration has convened a meeting today to chalk out a strategy to combat the situation.