Ahmedabad: Bird flu has been confirmed in some samples from a poultry in Surat district leading to authorities resuming

culling of chickens in and around the area, official sources here said. "Culling operations have resumed in and around Uchchal and interior villages. Two samples of chickens taken from a farm in Uchchal have tested positive for avian flu. The tests were conducted at Bhopal laboratory on 13 samples," state Secretary of Cow Breeding and Protection D K Rao told PTI. The samples were taken from Timoli farm and sent on February 13 to the laboratory in Bhopal and the Union government announced the results yesterday, he added. "Culling has resumed in a radius of 10 km from Uchchal and we are focussing on these areas. More then 19,000 chickens will be culled today itself. Disinfecting operations are already underway and it will be intensified," Rao said. However, no cases of bird flu was detected among humans from the region, they said. "The fresh news of some chicken samples being tested positive for the bird flu is not alarming as we have already culled all the poultry from that particular area. Moreover, all those involved in the work presently have been given preventive shots of Tamiflu", he said. Authorities had earlier this week culled over 73,000 chickens and destroyed thousands of eggs in Surat, Uchchal and surrounding regions of the state, adjoining avian-flu affected Navapur taluka of Maharashtra. "Samples of more then 65 people, from the Uchchal region and health workers, have been thoroughy tested and no sign of human infection is there", Singh said. Medical teams continue to inspect health of people living in the region and involved in the poultry trade. The state government has already vaccinated fowls in its first phase of preventive measures. Movement of chicken and other poultry products has been banned in the region and especially those coming from Navapur, sources said. Authorities have also begun compensating the hundreds of poultry farm owners since the culling operations began, they added.