April 23, 2008

Bird flu continues spread in India state Tripura
 

The bird flu had spread to a new area in Tripura after re-emerging in early April.

Bird flu has been confirmed for the second in Tripura and it is the H5N1 strain, said Kartick Debbarma, a senior animal resources official.

The bird flu outbreak occurred in villages in West Tripura district, and authorities in Tripura have decided to cull about 10,000 birds in areas that fall within five km radius of the affected villages and, according to officials.

Imports of poultry from outside the state, including Bangladesh, have been banned.

About 200 culling teams are ready for culling operations while bird flu medicine has been obtained from Delhi. 

The Comissioner of Animal Resource Department U Venkateswarlu is currently reviewing the situation at a meeting with the ARD director, district health and medical officer, district magistrate and other officials.

More than 25,000 poultry have been culled in Tripura this month after H5N1 surfaced in eight villages.