India: Government's steps to contain Bird Flu

The government in India has taken immediate steps with orders to slaughter poultry in a 3 km radius where the infection has been spotted. More from NDTV

Nearly 40,000 to about 100,000 chickens have reportedly been affected during the last few weeks in poultry farms along the Maharashtra-Gujarat border.

In the Capital, the Cabinet Secretary has called for an emergency meeting and medical teams have been rushed to Nandurbar. Anees Ahmed, Maharashtra Minister for Animal Husbandry has confirmed that these are indeed cases of bird flu. A team of over two hundred veterinary doctors and specialists have been sent to areas in the state where poultry is reared on a large scale. Officials said there is no cause for alarm and they are taking measures to put a preventive plan in place. So far the infection has been limited to only chickens and not a single human case has been reported.

India confirms first bird flu case

From CNN's report

A federal health ministry official said there were no reports of human infections.

State husbandry minister Anees Ahmed said tests had confirmed the presence of the H5N1 avian flu virus in some of the dead chickens in Nandurbar district, about 450 km (280 miles) north of Mumbai, the country's bustling commercial capital.Samples sent to a government laboratory in central Bhopal town had confirmed bird flu....

At least 60 percent of India's one-billion plus people live in rural areas close to their livestock, just like in many other parts of Asia, raising the risks of the bird flu virus infecting people.

Poultry farming is particularly popular in Maharashtra. There are 52 poultry farms in Nandurbar area, officials said.