Culling over, India cleans up bird flu-hit town

INDIA: Indian veterinary workers began cleaning up chicken farms and disinfecting homes in a remote western town on Friday after culling hundreds of thousands of chickens hit by bird flu, officials said.

Health officials said fears of human infections were easing as 11 of 12 people quarantined following the outbreak of the virus in poultry had tested negative for the H5N1 strain.

They said the last sample had to undergo further tests to conclusively decide its status and the result was expected on Saturday. Besides the dozen, two more people were quarantined on Thursday including a veterinary worker involved in culling of chickens in Navapur town in Maharashtra state where India's first H5N1 outbreak in chickens was confirmed last week.

"Two more people have been kept under observation in the isolation ward as they have complained of cough and cold," T.P. Doke, Maharashtra's director of health services, told Reuters. One of the two complained he had fever despite being treated at home for flu-like symptoms and testing negative for bird flu, Doke said.

The blood sample of the other man, a culler, had been sent for testing for avian influenza, he added.

"Our focus now has shifted from culling of birds to cleaning up and sanitising the town," Doke said from Navapur.

Culling in Navapur and surrounding areas was over and more than 345,000 birds had been destroyed, officials said, adding that a few remaining backyard poultry were being culled after compensating the owners.

Mumbai, Friday (Reuters)