Over 400 chickens culled in Indore amid bird flu scare

Nearly 450 chickens wereculled in Madhya Pradesh's Indore city in the last 24 hours toprevent the spread of bird flu, a civic official said onFriday evening.

The Madhya Pradesh government has already orderedclosure of poultry shops in Neemuch and Indore districts for aweek after bird flu infection was found in some chickens.

''Nearly 450 poultry birds were culled and buried asper guidelines. We have also shut chicken shops in the city,''municipal health officer Uttam Yadav said.

Transportation and trade of poultry have beensuspended in the entire city for a week, he said.

Bird deaths continued to be reported in the cityduring the day.

''At least 19 crows, three herons and a cuckoo werefound dead in the city on Friday,'' said Pramod Sharma, deputydirector of Indore Veterinary Services.

As many as 250 birds, mostly crows, have been founddead in the city in the last 11 days, the official said.

Bird flu was first detected in samples of two out of50 crows whose carcasses were found in the city's Residencyarea on December 29.

The Centre earlier in the day said bird flu has beenconfirmed so far in Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat.