Fresh confusion as bird flu reappears

Even as the bird flu was confirmed in a state government owned poultry farm at Malda, the West Bengal government is still waiting for a formal notification from the Centre to begin mass culling operations.

The West Bengal government's the health and family welfare departments said it was "officially" unaware of a bird flu outbreak in Malda.

However, finally the government has decided to slaughter chickens at the state-run poultry in the district, where about 1,000 birds have died over the the last five days.

According to Anisum Rahaman, the state's animal resources minister, the infection was caused by vehicles used in culling operations though he did not explain on the facts which aided him to come to such a discovery.

He indicated that close to 50,000 birds located within 10km of the state poultry farm would be culled.

According to a senior official at the health and family welfare department, "Officially, the health department has not received any information on the outbreak of bird flu. However, the department is ready to face any eventuality and team of doctors from the Centre is already visiting the two bird flu affected areas in Murshidabad."

Anisur Rahaman, animal resources development, said the state was yet to finalise any action plan for mass culling operations in Malda.

"The unnatural death of chickens in Malda might be due to bird flu, but the Centre is yet to notify the area as bird flu-affected. Once that is done, we will fix our culling targets. The farm where the birds have died is an integrated complex, with a training centre, " the minister said.

In January, the H5N1 virus affected 13 of the state's 19 districts and around 3.4 million birds were culled during the last outbreak. In Murshidabad, the culling operations would end soon, said Rahaman.

This is for the first time, since the bird flu outbreak of bird flu in January, that a large number of birds have died in an organised farm. All the earlier cases of bird flu were reported from backyard poultry.