Surinder Sud / New Delhi June 1, 2009, 0:38 IST

Even as the threat of swine flu continues, a fresh outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (bird flu) has been reported from West Bengal.

About 20 backyard poultry birds were reported to have died on May 20 in the rural areas of Uttar Dinajpur in West Bengal, not far from the Assam and Bangladesh border.

WHO confirms 11,168 cases of influenza A/H1N1 infection.

As diseases break from animal farms, there is greater awareness and emphasis being laid on preventive hygiene.

million pot pies last year under its popular Banquet label

Some 3,000 chickens were culled at a poultry farm in Pahartoli area in the town on Sunday night after receiving confirmation that the chickens of that farm were infected with bird flu.

District Livestock Office said the local administration carried out the culling at Al Akbar Poultry Farm.

Speakers at a function here on Saturday stressed the need for creating awareness among the people about bird flu as HSNI virus causes widespread death of poultry birds and also affects human being.

Canada said on Monday it will pursue World Trade Organisation action against China if it maintains its ban on pork and hogs from the province of Alberta.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced Saturday it had found the H1N1 flu virus in a swine herd in the western province of Alberta, prompting the ban by China.

Underscoring the significance of individual measures that served as the first line of defence against any influenza virus, speakers at a discussion on swine flu said that though the virus seemed to be getting less virulent with time, there was a dire need to create awareness about it and take preventive measures since the disease had now become a global threat.

The Minister Health and Family Welfare, AFM Ruhal Haque, on Wednesday urged everyone not to be panicked by Swine flu.
He advised all to be aware of this new sub-type of H1N1 virus that has claimed more than 150 lives across the world in the last few days. And he asked the media

Veterinary Surgeon Anoma Suwandaratne warned that people should be alert about the Avian flu though there is no direct threat of the disease spreading to Sri Lanka.

We need to be more careful about this epidemic which could spread through ducks and fowl.

NEW DELHI: Projecting the bamboo as a