No report of human case of bird flu: Government

Government Sunday said no case of bird flu in humans was reported so far from any part of the country even as it started culling of chickens in the affected areas of Maharashtra and Gujarat.

"There is no report of any human case of avian influenza so far," Joint Secretary in Health Ministry Vineet Chawdhry told a press conference in New Delhi.

There is no need to panic, he said and added that contingency action plans are in place to effectively deal with the outbreak of bird flu in the country.

"A total of 60 Rapid Response Team have set to carry out the culling operations. Today 45 teams were deployed and 15 are in full readiness," Joint Secretary Animal Husbandry Upma Chawdhry said.

These teams would start vaccination of poultry once the culling process is over, she said.

The culling operation is being carried out in about 50 poultry farms as per initial estimates.

Animal husbandry and transport ministers of Gujarat and the local member of Parliament interacted with the poultry owners of the Navapur area Sunday morning.

"The farmers assured to co-operate with the control and containment operations," she said.

Meanwhile, Animal Husbandry Secretary P M A Hakeem held a high-level meeting in Mumbai on Sunday with the state government officials of Maharashtra and Gujarat to take stock of the situation.