Bengal sends dead birds to Bhopal for tests

KOLKATA: The carcasses of two birds from a sanctuary in West Bengal were sent to a laboratory in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday for tests amid fears about an outbreak of bird flu.

Some 1,000 migratory birds have died at Kulik sanctuary at North Dinajpur in West Bengal over the past 10 days, raising doubts of an avian flu outbreak.

Though state Forest Minister Jogesh Burman downplayed the issue by saying it was the result of cyclonic activity that took place in the region some 10 days back, the authorities have decided not taken risks.

It was initially decided that the carcasses would be examined at the Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at Belgachia in central Kolkata.

But no sooner were the birds flown into Kolkata, the state animal resources and development department decided to send them to the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal on the instructions of the agriculture department.

Meanwhile, a majority of samples collected from the five bird sanctuaries in the state have shown negative results for the presence of the avian flu virus.