The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Bird flu has spread to other districts in the country yesterday despite efforts by authorities to contain it, taking the number of affected districts to 40, said officials of the Livestock.

Health workers culled nearly 12,000 fowls yesterday after tests confirmed some chickens had died from the avian influenza virus in the northeast, they said.

The H5N1 virus, first detected in the country last March, was quickly brought under control through aggressive measures, including culling. But follow-up monitoring eased in later months prompting the disease to reappear, said experts.

So far, no human infections have been reported in the country, a densely populated nation with millions of backyard poultry and thousands of chicken farms.

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The Caretaker Government has enhanced compensation for poultry farmers to encourage them to report and destroy sick birds.

More than half a million birds to be culled across the country, but the virus has spread to more than half of districts of the country partly due to lack of awareness.

Many children were seen smiling and playing with dead poultry. Even health workers have been seen burying dead birds without any protective gear. This was found in the other region of the country, too.