By IANS
New Delhi : India will cull poultry wherever a bird flu outbreak is suspected without waiting for confirmation, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said here Saturday after tests showed the disease had spread further in West Bengal.
“As it is spreading to nearby districts, we have taken a decision that we are not going to wait for the Bhopal lab’s report,” said Pawar, whose ministry is overseeing the culling operation in West Bengal.
The minister was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
“If death of poultry birds is happening in high numbers, we have to act. It might be on mass basis in that particular belt,” he added.
India announced an outbreak of avian influenza Tuesday after the Bhopal-based High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) confirmed the disease from Birbhum and South Dinajpur districts of West Bengal.
The World Health Organization (WHO) described the situation as serious.
Pawar said: “I am saying the same thing.”
He also called for a close vigil on the movement of poultry, especially from Bangladesh.
Assuring that the disease will be contained within West Bengal, the minister asked people not to panic.
Meanwhile, the HSADL Saturday confirmed the spread of bird flu to new areas – four blocks of Murshidabad district (Khargram, Burwan, Nowda and Nabagram), one block of Nadia district (Tehatta) and two blocks of Burdwan district (Mongalkote and Purbasthali).
However, the samples from South 24 Parganas, Cooch Behar, Purulia and Hooghly districts tested negative for avian influenza.
“Result of the samples sent from Bankura district is awaited from HSADL,” a statement from the agriculture ministry said.