India to widen area in which chickens are being culled after bird flu outburst

India to widen area in which chickens are being culled after bird flu outburst

Indian authorities plan to widen the area in which they are slaughtering chickens after an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, officials said.

Authorities initially planned to kill 700,000 chickens in a 3-kilometer (1.9-mile) radius around the poultry farming village of Navapur , but have decided to expand the radius because, "we don't want to take any chances," said Anees Ahmed an official in the state where the outbreak is located.

The move was expected to lead to the slaughter of an additional 100,000 birds, reports the AP.

D.M.