INTERVIEW - Bird Flu-Hit India Probes 16,000 New Poultry Deaths
Date: 22-Feb-06
Country: INDIA
Indian Animal Husbandry Secretary P.M.A. Hakeem said the chicken deaths had taken place in Shimoga district in the southern state of Karnataka and samples of the dead birds were being sent for testing to a government laboratory.
"They have taken samples (from Shimoga) ... and the authorities have taken steps of sending out investigation teams to carry out preliminary and clinical investigations," Hakeem, told Reuters in an interview.
"Preliminary indications are that it is not due to bird flu ... but we have to rule out every possibility and the possibility of avian influenza."
India's first bird flu outbreak was reported last week in Nandurbar district in the western state of Maharashtra after the deadly H5N1 strain was detected among dead chicken.
Authorities say that although the flu has not spread to humans, 10 people are in quarantine, eight with flu-like symptoms and two as a precaution.
They say that the poultry industry is prone to diseases and mortality rates can be quite high at times.
Hakeem said experts suspected the Shimoga deaths to be due to Infectious Bursal Disease, which affects the immune system of chickens, but did not want to take any chances due to the H5N1 outbreak in neighbouring Maharashtra.
Shimoga is about 250 km (150 miles) northwest of the southern technology hub of Bangalore.
