None of the samples of poultry birds from different parts of West Bengal tested positive for bird flu, a senior official said on Thursday, maintaining that there was no need to panic.
The state government was not considering any restriction on the consumption of poultry items as of now, Health Secretary N S Nigam said.
"The situation in West Bengal is normal and there is nothing to worry. We have carried out an active influenza surveillance. Not a single person was found affected with the virus," Nigam told reporters.
"There was no human-to-human transmission of the disease. The health department is not issuing any advisory on restrictions on the consumption of chicken, egg and other poultry items," he said.
A total of 30,000 samples collected throughout the year from different parts of West Bengal are tested in the state-run Belgachia Institute of Animal Health and Veterinary Biologicals, Nigam said.
Thirty per cent of the samples are sent for retesting at the Bhopal-based ICAR-National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases, he said.
According to the health department, a four-year-old child from Kaliachak in Malda district was diagnosed with the disease in January, and recovered after treatment.
There was another child, who travelled from the city to Australia in February and tested positive for avian influenza or bird flu, after arriving there, he said.
"After that, we conducted active surveillance of the family members and other persons and none tested positive for the virus. What we can say is that the source of the virus was not Bengal," Animal Resources Development Additional Chief Secretary Vivek Kumar said.
Meanwhile, a team comprising senior officials of the health department and representatives of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday conducted another round of evaluation in Malda's Kaliachak.
"The team found nothing based on their surveillance," Nigam said.
The H9N2 bird flu virus is a subtype of the avian influenza virus, which spreads through direct contact with infectious animals or indirect interaction with contaminated environments.
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