KOLKATA, India (AFP) — Villagers in eastern India are continuing to eat chickens killed by bird flu and there are signs the virus may be spreading among poultry, an official said.
West Bengal animal resources minister Anisur Rahaman told AFP the situation in the affected areas was "horrible", and that more suspect cases had been reported on the state's borders with Nepal and Bangladesh.
"The ignorance of villagers is one of the main hurdles. They are carrying the dead chickens without any protective gear," he said.
"Most villagers are not aware of the disease. They are eating the dead chickens. Their children are playing with the infected chickens in the courtyards. It's horrible," Rahaman added.
Six districts in West Bengal state have reported outbreaks of avian flu among poultry.
People typically catch the disease by coming into direct contact with infected poultry, but experts fear the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus may mutate into a form easily transmissible between humans.
Rahaman said there were fears it could be spreading further afield in the state, with suspect poultry spotted in the hill resort of Darjeeling on the border with Nepal, and in several villages in Coochbehar bordering Bangladesh, which is also fighting a bird flu outbreak.
"Blood samples of the dead poultry have been sent for tests. We are awaiting the report," he said.
The epicentre of the outbreak is Margram village, 240 kilometres (150 miles) from the state capital Kolkata.
Rahaman said authorities had so far killed 200,000 chickens and ducks, and were planning to cull 500,000 more in the next three to four days.
The outbreak is the third in India -- home to 1.1 billion people -- since 2006 but it has not had any human cases, although it is the worst so far because it is more widespread, according to the World Health Organisation.
Some 30 million rupees (770,000 dollars) has been set aside to compensate poultry owners -- although farmers are reportedly opposing the slaughter of their birds because they want the cash immediately.
Bangladesh, meanwhile, reported another outbreak of near the border with India -- taking the number of affected districts to 26 out of 64.
Bangladesh government spokesman Salahuddin Khan said nearly 5,000 chickens have been destroyed around a farm in the northern district of Natore.
Authorities have slaughtered at least 355,000 chickens, ducks and pigeons since the first outbreak of the disease in February last year.
But experts have said some outbreaks may not have been reported, as farmers preferred to cover them up, fearing they might not be able to sell their birds in the market.
Migratory birds have been largely blamed for the global spread of the disease, which has killed more than 200 people worldwide since 2003.
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