KOLKATA, Jan 17: India said on Thursday an outbreak of bird flu was spreading in the east of the country, with the World Health Organisation warning the situation was serious.

Anisur Rahaman, animal resources minister in West Bengal state, said the virus had spread to settlements around the village where the first poultry deaths came to light.

“Reports have reached (us) that hens have started dropping dead in several villages surrounding Margram. We are worried over the situation. We have sought more help from the federal government,” Rahaman said.

Health officials are engaged in culling 400,000 birds in several districts of India’s heavily populated West Bengal state bordering Bangladesh, which is also struggling with the virus.

The slaughter began after India’s agriculture ministry confirmed that the deaths of an estimated 35,000 birds in West Bengal were due to the deadly H5N1 strain.

About 8,000 birds were killed on Wednesday Rahaman said, adding that officials were facing resistance from bird owners.

“We have asked health workers to step up culling.... The government has a target to cull 350,000 chickens in the next 10 days,” he added.

The outbreak is the third in India, home to 1.1 billion people, since 2006.

But the WHO warned that this time the situation appeared more alarming.

“More serious risk factors are associated with this current outbreak than previously encountered, including that the affected areas are more widespread and because of proximity to extended border areas,” the organisation said.

Still, locals in the area have said dead birds were being sold as meat.

Pradip Roy, a railway employee working at Birbhum station near Margram, said villagers were crowding local markets “to buy chickens at low prices”.

“A good number of chickens are also being smuggled out,” Roy added.

In New Delhi, officials said advisories had been sent to states neighbouring West Bengal in a bid to contain any possible spread of the disease. Chicken was taken off the menus of flights originating from Kolkata.

Humans are typically infected by coming into direct contact with infected poultry, but experts fear the deadly virus may mutate into a form easily transmissible between humans.—AFP