New Delhi - In a second outbreak this year, avian influenza has spread to a third district in India's eastern West Bengal state, news reports said Thursday. Jalpaiguri became the third district to be affected by bird flu after Malda and Murshidabad, with the death of 112 chickens reported from backyard poultry farms in its Sadar area, PTI news agency reported.
Samples sent to the state-run laboratory in the central Indian town of Bhopal had tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus, Banamali Roy, an elected member of the Jalpaiguri district council, was quoted as saying.
Jalpaiguri was one of the 14 districts in the state where there was an earlier outbreak of the disease in January. A recurrence of the disease were also reported from the Murshidabad and Malda districts in March.
Authorities culled over 4 million birds in an effort to contain the earlier outbreak of the disease which was confirmed on January 15 and spread rapidly to 14 of the state's 19 districts.
Officials announced in early February that the disease had been contained and subsequently a ban on sale and consumption of poultry birds was lifted.
The UN Food and Agricultural Organization commended the state government on its containment efforts at the time but warned that constant vigilance was required to make sure there was no recurrence of the disease.
The federal health ministry said Thursday that no cases of human infection had been reported in the current outbreak and the state government had adequate stock of Oseltamivir and personal protective equipment to tackle the disease.
India has so far seen three major outbreaks of bird flu, but has not yet reported any cases of human infection.
