India finds eight new cases of bird flu

India finds eight new cases of bird flu

Authorities have found eight new cases of the H5 strain of bird flu in a western Indian region where an outbreak was reported earlier this month and plan to slaughter some 200,000 chickens, an official said Tuesday.

Tests were still being conducted to determine whether the infected chickens had the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus, Upma Chowdhry, a senior official in the Animal Husbandry Ministry, told The Associated Press.

The new cases were found in a region north of Bombay, India's financial hub, where the country's second outbreak of the virus was reported earlier this month, reports the AP.

I.L.