Agartala, April 22 (IANS) A fresh outbreak of bird flu was reported in Tripura Tuesday, a week after culling operations were completed in villages of Dhalai district in the northeastern state, officials said. “The samples of the dead poultry, which were sent to the High Security Animal Diseases Laboratory (HSADL) in Bhopal, had tested positive. We have already identified the affected area and the culling operation would begin from Thursday,” principal secretary in charge of Animal Resource Development (ARD) department U. Venkateswarlu told IANS.

According to the official, a few chickens died in backyard poultry farms in bordering west Tripura’s Mohanpur village, 30 km west of the capital city Agartala, last week. Blood samples were then sent for laboratory tests.

The principal secretary Tuesday held an urgent meeting with the top officials of the Border Security Force (BSF), police, ARD department, forests, Public Works Department and others to start the culling operations.

Senior ARD officials and experts rushed to the bird flu-affected village and drop-gates were set up to restrict movement to and from the village.

“A little over 50,000 poultry birds are expected to be slaughtered at Mohanpur and six adjoining villages, bordering Bangladesh,” Venkateswarlu said.

The northeastern state of Tripura, which share an 856-km international border with Bangladesh, completed culling of over 41,000 poultry and destroyed thousands of other poultry products following an outbreak of bird flu last month in the border villages of Kamalpur under Dhalai district, 150 km north of the capital city Agartala.