BONGAIGAON, Feb 11

India is one of the 15 countries around the globe affected by the bird flu or avian influenza. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is concerned. There could be a distinct possibility of the lethally infectious H5NI bird flu virus mutating into a more dangerous form. It could spread rapidly among humans. The FAO has called for close monitoring and strong control efforts to stamp out the menace of avian flu before it's too late.

KRISHNAGAR, Feb. 10: At a time when it was believed the state has succeeded to get rid of avian influenza after no unnatural deaths of chickens were reported over the past few days, fresh chicken deaths were reported today in Ranaghat-II block in Nadia. According to reports, over 1,300 chickens died of a mysterious disease in different poultry farms in Ranaghat-II block in Nadia. The symptoms of the disease are similar to avian influenza. The district authorities sent a team to collect samples and take note of the situation.

Several thousand fowls were culled in Gazipur and Bogra as reports of chicken dying of bird flu kept pouring in from different parts of the country on Monday. Awareness raising campaigns initiated by various government and local authorities could not stop dumping of dead fowls in the open, risking public health in some areas. Over 6,000 fowls were culled in Gazipur and Bogra after laboratory tests confirmed bird flu outbreak at least in two firms in the districts. About 100 dead chickens were found floating in a canal at Tootpara Mowlabari area in Khulna city Monday morning.

The large poultry industry in Punjab appears vulnerable to the bird flu outbreak in a similar way as it began in West Bengal. Talking to reporters here last week, officials of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) said they had investigated the poultry farms in Ludhiana, Amritsar and Chandigarh in the past few months and found gross negligence on the part of poultry farmers towards the birds.

Speakers at a seminar on Monday called for educating the masses and an increased social mobilisation about the risk perceptions linked to avian influenza (AI). They observed that the disease had already made its way into the country posing a threat to poultry, farm workers, consumers of poultry products and other people. Well-coordinated initiatives are needed to be taken by the government agencies concerned, they stressed while calling for a careful dissemination of preventive health education vis-

A year after India declared itself free of bird flu, the virus h5n1 has again struck the country. This has affected the country's poultry industry

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With a bird flu alert being sounded at the Indo-Bengal border, the city of Siliguri in West Bengal's Darjeeling district has reasons to worry. More than 2,500 chicken deaths have been reported