India Culls More Than 524,000 Birds After Avian Flu Outbreak

India culled more than 524,000 birds in West Bengal and Assam states to contain an outbreak of avian flu among poultry, the government said.

About 290 health workers are conducting house-to-house inspections in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal, where 41,906 birds have been culled so far, according to an e-mailed statement from New Delhi. The government confirmed an outbreak of the flu in the district on Jan. 6.

In the northeastern state of Assam, avian flu has spread to eight districts since November and 772 health workers are monitoring the outbreak, according to the statement. The Health Ministry has supplied 40,000 capsules of Tamiflu, 12,000 surgical masks and protective equipment for 1,200 personnel.

More than 483,000 birds have been culled in Assam and "sufficient anti-viral drugs are in stock with the state government," according to the statement. No human case of bird flu have been reported so far, it said.

India has killed millions of fowl in the past three years following outbreaks of avian flu. The virus hasn't become more dangerous to humans and occasional deaths from the disease shouldn't be cause for alarm, Bernard Vallat, who heads the World Organization for Animal Health, said on Jan. 7.

The World Health Organization began tracking the H5N1 virus in humans after three fatal cases were reported in Vietnam in 2003, prompting scientists to warn of a potential global outbreak.

India on Sept. 24 banned imports of some livestock and their products from nations affected by avian flu to prevent a fresh outbreak of the virus.