“Samples of 33 dead poultry birds had been sent to the High Security Disease Laboratory in Bhopal for tests," Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Animal Husbandry K. Subba, told The Hindu over telephone on Monday.
Steps are being taken for the culling of birds in the affected region, Subba said, adding that there is a proposal for destroying about 20,000 birds. "But since there is no report of the disease spreading we will determine the final numbers to be culled after two or three days".
Steps are also being taken to prevent the supply of poultry products from the Ravangla area to other parts of the state. “We have already banned all imports of poultry birds from other states since bird flu was reported in Assam more than a month ago,” Subba said.
Meanwhile, The Associated Press (AP) reported that India has already spent the last year battling its worst outbreak of the H5N1 virus. Authorities in West Bengal state culled more than five million birds last year.
Related story
Bird flu detected in eight places of Chitwan
