Overall improvement in bird flu situation: WB Govt

After reviewing the situation in the bird flu-hit Birbhum district, Rehman said the state had set a target to cull 4,00,000 chickens within seven days of which 60,000-70,000 had already been culled.

Henceforth, villagers will not carry dead birds with bare hands. Trained volunteers armed with gloves, aprons and masks will carry the dead chickens, he said.

In many villages, villagers picked dead fowl with their hands and dumped them in ponds, increasing the risk of the virus.

The minister will be visiting Margram, the epicentre of the outbreak in Birbhum district, and Murshidabad district on Saturday.

Bird flu virus has already been confirmed in three West Bengal districts of Birbhum, South Dinajpur and Murshidabad where culling continued for the fourth consecutive day on Saturday.

Samples from Birbhum and South Dinajpur districts showed the presence of the deadly H5N1 virus, which can mutate and infect humans.

The districts of Burdwan, Bankura, Cooch Behar, Nadia and Purulia and 24 South Paragans reported several cases of bird deaths. But central officials said tests of samples in Purulia, Cooch Behar and Nadia proved negative for bird flu.

Rehman said culling operations will be intensified in Birbhum district from Sunday.

85 teams were carrying out the job in the district till today, he said. From tomorrow, 300 teams will undertake culling in Birbhum, the minister said.

Ruling out the possibility of an increase in the amount which was being given to poultry owners as ‘relief’, the minister said affected persons would be able to collect the money from panchayat offices on the second day itself.

The district administration has set up a district-level monitoring team to tackle the situation, he said.

About culling of migratory birds, Union Animal Resources Commissioner Shantanu Bandopadhyay said no scientific study had been done to pinpoint the migratory birds as the source of bird flu in the district.

Forest Department sources said a six-member team would be arriving from New Delhi on Saturday to study the behaviour and health of migratory birds in Birbhum.

South Dinajpur district magistrate Swapan Chatterjee said in Balurghat that 15,614 chickens had died in the district since Thursday.

Chicken feed weighing 1,548 kg and 45,755 eggs were seized in the district since Friday to curb the spread of the disease, he said.

"The target for culling 26,000 chickens have been raised to 40,000 and may take about seven days time, if the figure rises substantially," he said.

About 25-30 dead chickens were found at Chengizpur near the Indo-Bangla border and the BSF would organise awareness camps in the area from Saturday, he said.

Bird flu spread to Murshidabad, the third district in West Bengal on Friday, while new areas in another three districts reported large-scale deaths of birds.

Union Animal Husbandry Secretary Pradeep Kumar confirmed that bird samples from Murshidabad district had tested positive for bird flu on the basis of rapid tests and authorities are considering starting culling operations there.

The districts of Burdwan, Bankura, Cooch Behar, Nadia and Purulia and 24 South Paragans reported several cases of bird deaths. But central officials said tests of samples from the districts proved negative for bird flu.

No new cases of bird deaths were reported from Nadia district on Saturday and no culling would be undertaken, district magistrate Omkar Singh Meena said.

For the first time, culling operations will begin in 20 villages under Kharjuna gram panchayat area in Murshidabad district on Saturday.

Eight teams of veterinary surgeons have already arrived in the district. Animal Resources Development minister Anisur Rehman is due to come here from the worst-hit district Birbhum.

Rahman will hold meetings with district officials shortly. Largescale death of domestic fowls and ducks caused panic in the villages of the district recently.

In Purulia, district administration has stopped entry of poultry from neighboring Bankura and Burdwan districts where deaths of birds were reported.

Poultry products are not being served to the students of residential schools like Purulia Ramkrishna Mission and Sainik School. However, there is no report of any bird death from any part of the district.