By IANS
Kolkata : West Bengal has incurred a loss of Rs.5 billion due to bird flu outbreak in the state since Jan 15, a top state official said here Wednesday.
“The total volume of loss due to the bird flu virus in West Bengal is around Rs.5 billion. The loss was caused by the culling of poultry birds in thousands of farms, destroying of eggs and imposing a ban on the selling of chicken in the state,” West Bengal Animal Resources Development Minister Anisur Rahman told IANS.
According to reports, a total of 1,32,911 poultry birds’ deaths have been reported from Birbhum, South Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Nadia, South 24-Parganas, Burdwan, Bankura, Hooghly, Malda, Coochbehar, Purulia, Howrah and North 24-Parganas districts of West Bengal.
A total of 233 Rapid Response Teams (RRT) were engaged and have already completed the culling of nearly 3.6 million poultry birds.
According to the latest figures, 14,83,447 eggs and 79,945 kg feed were destroyed till Feb 5.
Rahman said the loss is huge and the businessmen and poultry farm owners are facing a tough time in West Bengal.
The virus was first confirmed in Birbhum and South Dinajpur districts Jan 15.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has described the bird flu outbreak in West Bengal as “serious” and worst ever faced by India.
The H5N1 virus causes a type of influenza in birds that is highly contagious. It does not usually infect people unless they come in close contact with infected birds or contaminated surfaces.
In neighbouring Bangladesh, which shares a long border with West Bengal, bird flu has affected 29 of the 64 districts. The outbreak in that country was announced Jan 3.