Howrah News Service -  Latest news and headlines on Howrah,West Bengal and World: Bird Flu hits Tripura again

Bird Flu hits Tripura again
================================================================================
SPECIALCORRESPONDENT on 22 April, 2008 05:54:00
 
officials said  "The samples of the dead poultry, which were sent to the High
Security Animal Diseases Laboratory (HSADL) in Bhopal, had tested positive. We
have already identified the affected area and the culling operation would begin
from Thursday," principal secretary in charge of Animal Resource Development
(ARD) department U Venkateswarlu told reporter.
According to the official, a few chickens died in backyard poultry farms in
bordering west Tripura's Mohanpur village, 30 kilometres west of the capital
city Agartala, last week. Blood samples were then sent for laboratory tests.
The principal secretary today held an urgent meeting with the top officials of
the Border Security Force (BSF), police, ARD department, forests, Public Works
Department and others to start the culling operations.
Senior ARD officials and experts rushed to the bird flu-affected village and
drop-gates were set up to restrict movement to and from the village. "A little
over 50,000 poultry birds are expected to be slaughtered at Mohanpur and six
adjoining villages, bordering Bangladesh," Venkateswarlu said.
The northeastern state of Tripura, which share an 856-kilometre international
border with Bangladesh, completed culling of over 41,000 poultry and destroyed
thousands of other poultry products following an outbreak of bird flu in March
2008 in the border villages of Kamalpur under Dhalai district, 150 kilometres
north of the state capital. (IANS)