Alert in Assam districts following fresh detection of avian flu

Rangiya (Assam), Dec 02:
An alert has been sounded in two central Assam districts of Kamrup (Metro) and Kamrup (Rural) as avian flu has been detected in fresh areas there amid reports of death of more than 100 birds. The death of chickens was reported from the Bogri and Kachumara areas, prompting the district administrations to ban purchase and sale of eggs, official sources said. Over a hundred birds were found dead yesterday at the Bongra and Kachumara areas from where samples had been collected and sent to the laboratories in Bhopal and Pune, Kamrup (Rural) Deputy Commissioner R N Jain said. As a precautionary measure, an alert has been sounded as the avian disease is suspected to be spreading to fresh areas of Sarpara, Rangamati, Bongra and Kachuniapra villages. The Karmup (metro) district administration has imposed a ban on movement of birds and eggs from the affected areas as well as from the nearby markets at Mirza and Plashbari in the outskirts of the city. In the Kamrup (rural) district, nearly 50,000 birds have been culled and another 30,000 will be culled in the next couple of days. The administration is also probing the reported sale of flu-affected birds at a very low price in the Hajo area.