The bird flu situation in West Bengal had not worsened, instead it was showing signs of 'overall improvement', state Animal Resources Minister Anisur Rehman said.
KOLKATA: The bird flu situation in West Bengal had not worsened, instead it was showing signs of 'overall improvement', state Animal Resources Minister Anisur Rehman said on Saturday.
Talking after reviewing the situation in the bird flu-hit Birbhum district, Rehman said the state had set a target to cull 4,00,000 chickens within seven days of which 60,000-70,000 had already been culled.
Henceforth, villagers will not carry dead birds with bare hands. Trained volunteers armed with gloves, aprons and masks will carry the dead chickens, he said.
In many villages, villagers picked dead fowl with their hands and dumped them in ponds, increasing the risk of the virus.
The minister will be visiting Margram, the epicentre of the outbreak in Birbhum district, and Murshidabad district on Saturday
Bird flu virus has already been confirmed in three West Bengal districts of Birbhum, South Dinajpur and Murshidabad where culling continued for the fourth consecutive day on Saturday.
Samples from Birbhum and South Dinajpur districts showed the presence of the deadly H5N1 virus, which can mutate and infect humans.
The districts of Burdwan, Bankura, Cooch Behar, Nadia and Purulia and 24 South Paragans reported several cases of bird deaths. But central officials said tests of samples in Purulia, Cooch Behar and Nadia proved negative for bird flu.
Rehman said culling operations will be intensified in Birbhum district from Sunday.
85 teams were carrying out the job in the district till today, he said. From tomorrow, 300 teams will undertake culling in Birbhum, the minister said.
Ruling out the possibility of an increase in the amount which was being given to poultry owners as 'relief', the minister said affected persons would be able to collect the money from panchayat offices on the second day itself.
The district administration has set up a district-level monitoring team to tackle the situation, he said.
About culling of migratory birds, Union Animal Resources Commissioner Shantanu Bandopadhyay said no scientific study had been done to pinpoint the migratory birds as the source of bird flu in the district.
Forest department sources said a six-member team would be arriving from New Delhi on Saturday to study the behaviour and health of migratory birds in Birbhum.
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