Malda (WB) Dec 16 : Outbreak of bird flu has been reported at English Bazar in Malda district of West Bengal.

According to District Magistrate Sridhar Ghosh, the high risk disease detection laboratory of Bhopal has confirmed this after examining blood samples of dead chicken.

"The culling operations in the area will begin after issuance of formal notification," he added.

Authorities have asked people to refrain from sale, purchase and eating of poultry products. The move follows the death of more than 1,000 chicken in five villages under Narhatta Gram Panchayat in Malda district.

Earlier, the Central Government had send several bird flu experts to Assam to step up surveillance after nearly 100 people showed signs of suffering from the virus.

Three teams of Central medical experts, including epidemiologists and microbiologists, are keeping a close watch on humans in the affected areas of the State.

Medical teams have brought equipment as a preventive measure in case the virus spreads to humans, including 10,000 Tamiflu capsules, 6,000csurgical masks and two ventilators.

Veterinary officials have slaughtered over 300,000 chicken and ducks since late November, after the virus was detected in poultry last month in a village close to Guwahati.

The WHO has described the outbreak of bird flu in West Bengal last January, when more than four million birds were culled, as the worst ever in India. (ANI)