January 20, 2009
New bird flu outbreak in eastern India
Health authorities in the eastern Indian state of Sikkim on Monday (Jan 19) confirmed a new outbreak of bird flu.
The outbreak was reported in the southern part of the state, where officials will slaughter between 5,000 and 8,000 birds and disinfect affected areas.
The Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services Department spokesperson, K.C. Bhutia said they are waiting for the arrival of a central team following which the culling operations would start.
India has spent the last year battling its worst outbreak of the deadly H5N1 virus.
Authorities in the eastern state of West Bengal slaughtered more than five million birds in 2008 to stem the spread of the disease.
Last month officials in the northeast state of Assam killed more than 250,000 chickens after fears that the disease had spread to humans.
