Even after declaring that culling is officially over, the state government fears that the H5N1 bird flu virus, which re-surfaced in Malda’s Narhata gram panchayat in Englishbazar, may have spread to other areas as well.

According to Sridhar Ghosh, District Magistrate, Malda, the culling teams, which officially ended their operations on Monday, will continue working in some pockets.

“We cannot rule out the spread of the disease in other areas. Although the culling operation is officially over in Narhata, a few birds died in neighbouring areas on Monday. We have collected samples and sent them for testing. The reports are awaited. Till Sunday, 27,183 birds had been culled in the affected area,” said state Animal Resources Development Minister Anisur Rehman.

Regarding the origin of the H5N1 virus, the minister said: “We think that the virus was carried to the affected area from Bangladesh. But we are yet to find a proof.”

According to sources in the Animal Resources Development Department, the disease is yet to be contained in Narhata. “There are reports that some of the poultry had been transported out of the area of operation. In many villages the culling teams could not enter due to stiff resistance by villagers. Some of the team members were also beaten up,” said a senior official.

The villagers, meanwhile, refused to part with their domestic poultry and resisted the culling operation carried out by 33 teams in Narhata on Monday.