250000 birds culled after bird flu outbreak in Assam

India has culled at least 250,000 birds in Assam to contain an outbreak of bird flu among poultry, a government official said.

At least 950 health officials are monitoring the situation in eight of the state’s 23 districts where bird flu has been reported, D. Hojai, director of health services in the Assam government, said on Sunday over the telephone from the state capital, Guwahati.

Samples from two more districts where poultry died have been sent to a laboratory to confirm if the deaths are due to bird flu, Hojai said.