Bird flu scare in Indian state

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Authorities in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal have begun investigating the death of some 10,000 poultry birds in two villages.

The deaths, which have led to a bird flu scare, have been reported from Margram in Birbhum district.

Samples have been send for testing to a laboratory to ascertain whether the birds have died of avian influenza.

The virus can cause illness and death in humans, but scientists say the chances of being infected are very low.

The laboratory is likely to make public its test results on the birds on Monday.

But West Bengal's animal husbandry minister Anisur Rehman said his department will begin culling other birds in affected areas, where over 9,500 birds died in the last one week.

"We will cull the other birds in the locality and also quarantine the entire population as a precautionary measure, just in case," Mr Rehman said.

Outbreak

Bird flu was detected in poultry birds last year in the country's north-eastern state of Manipur and before that in Maharastra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh states.

So far there have been no cases among humans.

The disease seems to have hit Manipur from Burma's border regions where it was reported early last year.

The detection of bird flu in India in the states of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh last year led to sharp falls in the sale of poultry and poultry products.

Globally, the H5N1 virus has killed nearly 200 people out of more than 300 known cases of human fatalities due to avian influenza, says the World Health Organisation.

Hundreds of millions of birds have died from the infection or have been slaughtered.