Bird flu spreads as Indian farmers resist cull

Avian flu has been reported in two more districts in eastern India where authorities said on Sunday poultry farmers have delayed a massive bird cull aimed at halting the spread of the virus.

A total of five districts in eastern West Bengal state have reported an outbreak of avian flu among poultry, the government said Sunday. The outbreak is the third in India since 2006, and the worst so far, according to the World Health Organisation, partly because it is more widespread.

The state government aims to kill about 400,000 birds, but poultry farmers have actively blocked access to many sites and attacked members of culling teams, a state minister said. Kolkata, Sunday, AFP