Officials in Northeastern Bangladesh are reporting that a new outbreak of bird flu has killed 500 birds in the Moulavibazar district. Salehuddin Khan, the Bangladesh director of livestock stated, “After the confirmation of bird flu, authorities culled nearly 800 chickens, ducks and birds in a one-kilometer area around the affected farm.”
Since the first phase of the outbreak occurred in March of last year, authorities have had to cull more than 300,000 birds. The deadly H5N1 virus has now spread to 71 farms located in over 22 districts.
Poultry farms are a booming business in Bangladesh and account for $750 million in income every year. Authorities are concerned that the virus may jump to humans, since nearly 4 million Bangladeshi’s work with poultry. So far, there have been no reports of human cases.
Indonesia is still struggling to deal with their own outbreak of bird flu. 117 people have been hospitalized with the virus and 94 people have died. Nearby China reported that a man who was hospitalized for bird flu reportedly contracted it from his son who died of the disease in November.
