Bird flu spreads to two more districts in Assam

“We got the confirmation late on Thursday evening, but Rapid Reaction Teams have already been dispatched so that culling could be carried out on Saturday,” he added.

It was on November 27 that the authorities first detected the dreaded disease at Rajabazar village in Kamrup (rural) district, following which the authorities have culled as many as 20,000 birds in a 3-km radius area there.

Four days later, bird flu was detected and confirmed at Patgaon village under Rani block as well as at Sarpara village under Rampur block, both again in Kamrup district.

The latest confirmation has come from two clusters of villages, one Gobardhana block in Barpeta district and the other in Paschim Nalbari block. Rapid Reaction Teams had been already dispatched, the veterinary director said, adding about 50,000 birds were expected to be culled in these two clusters in the next two days.

The Assam Government, meanwhile, has sounded a general alert against the spread of bird flu across the state, and inter-district transportation of poultry has been banned.

“There have been some reports of people trying to shift the birds from infected areas to other places with the intention of disposing them of in the markets instead of taking government compensation,” said Dr Kataky.