A large outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu in India.
Sounds like the farmers have a very high population of poultry in a small
area.
Assam is in the North East corner of India near the Nepal & China borders.
12,000 birds culled in Assam after bird flu outbreak
Guwahati (IANS): Authorities in Assam have culled some 12,000 of the
estimated 60,000 birds ordered to be killed after an outbreak of the deadly
bird flu virus in the region, officials said Saturday.
Culling operations are on in the district of Kamrup since Friday and so far
about 12,000 chickens and ducks were killed, Manoranjan Choudhury, deputy
director of Assam's veterinary department, told IANS.
The culling is being carried out in 48 villages within a five kilometre
radius of village Thakurchuba in Kamrup district, about 40 km west of Assam
s main city of Guwahati.
The poultry targeted includes ducks and chickens. About 20 Rapid Response
Teams comprising about seven personnel, including a veterinarian, are
engaged in the operation that is expected to continue for about a week until
the entire area is depopulated of the estimated 60,000 poultry, Parthajyoti
Gogoi, a central health ministry official said.
The Health ministry on Thursday confirmed the outbreak of bird flu after
laboratory tests confirmed strains of the deadly H5N1 avian influenza. More
than 300 birds died in the past one week in the area. Assam's veterinary and
animal husbandry department has sounded an alert and is maintaining strict
surveillance on farms in the state with veterinarians carrying out checks on
all poultry.
A central health ministry team is also assisting the local authorities in
the culling operations. We have taken all precautionary health measures as
well in the area to ensure than humans are not affected, Gogoi said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) fears that the H5N1 strain could mutate
into a form easily transmitted between humans and spark a deadly pandemic. Sale
and purchase of poultry in the area was banned.
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