BIRD FLU

Bird flu declared in Cooch Behar

 

COOCH BEHAR, Jan. 31: The district magistrate of Cooch Behar Mr Rajesh Kumar Sinha declared Cooch Behar a bird flu affected district today.

 

Today, a high level meeting was held here to review the recent reports of unnatural death of backyard birds that poured in from different parts of the district. Reviewing the overall situation the DM declared the district as an avian flu affected one.

 

The DM said culling drive would begin from Monday at Nagar Bhangni village under Dinhata-II block and Uttar Dangkoba village under Pachagarh gram panchayat in Mathabhanga sub-division. Thirty culling teams consisting of five members in each team will be pressed into the job to kill 45,000 chickens.

 

As a precautionary measure the Border Security Force was alerted to beef up vigil along the Indo-Bangladesh border to stop movement of people with chickens. The border has been sealed to discourage incoming and outgoing transporting of chickens, the DM said. Trading and transportation of chickens in and out of the affected areas was also prohibited, the DM added.

 

It may be recalled here that reports started coming recently from Nagar Bhangni and Uttar Dangkoba villages that huge number of chickens suddenly started dying. Blood samples sent for examination to Kolkata and then to Bhopal laboratories. As the samples tested avian influenza positive the district administration convened a meeting today. Senior administrative officials and their counterparts from health department, BSF, police, animal resource development department, block development officers and sabhapatis of Panchayat Samitis attended the meeting. []