New Delhi: Eight months after India reported its last case of bird flu in poultry and two months after India declared itself free of the deadly H5N1 virus, avian influenza has returned to haunt the country.

Less than three months after the country was declared free from avian influenza (bird flu) in October, it has again been hit by another outbreak in the Khargram block of Murshidabad district of West Bengal. Poultry samples collected from the block tested positive for H5 strain of avian influenza during the tests conducted at the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL), Bhopal.

Behrampore, Jan. 14: A fresh outbreak of bird flu was reported in Murshidabad district today, prompting the authorities to announce a culling drive in the area from tomorrow.

Four gram panchayats in Murshidabad are said to be affected.

Officials said the Kirtipur gram panchayat was the worst hit. The other areas are Khargram, Margram and Parulia all in the Khargram block of Murshidabad.

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The administration

West Bengal is in again in the grip of bird flu or avian influenza scare. More than 2,000 birds, including domestic poultry, were found dead in the remote village of Durmoth at Mongolkot in Burdwan district, prompting the state animal resources development department to send a team to collect samples. The result will be announced within the next few days.

Gargi Parsai

NEW DELHI: India has declared itself free from the notifiable Avian Influenza (H5N1). The notification was issued to the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health) on October 22.

A country can declare itself free from birdflu, if there is no outbreak for three months. With the declaration, the country can hope to revive its poultry trade.

A common food bug that causes thousands of people to fall ill with diarrhoea and abdominal cramps is present in almost two-thirds of the chicken sold in Britain, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said on Tuesday.