No human cases of bird flu in western India

Tests indicate that people in western India who were suspected of having bird flu have not shown any sign of the deadly H5N1 infection as reported by an Indian official. A spokeswoman from India's Health Ministry reported that 94 of 95 samples taken tested negative for bird flu. Results for the final sample are expected later on Thursday. Nine people have been hospitalised in the town of Navapur, where an outbreak among chickens has forced the Indian authorities to cull thousands of birds since Sunday. According to the World Health Organization, the H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus has devastated poultry stocks and killed at least 92 people, mostly in Asia, since 2003. Most human cases of the disease have been linked to contact with infected birds. But scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form that is easily transmitted between humans, possibly sparking a pandemic. Workers in India laboured round-the-clock on Saturday to cull poultry in and around Navapur after it was announced that tests of some of the 30,000 chickens that died there in recent weeks detected the virus. All chickens in the 10-kilometer (six-mile) radius of Navapur, in all the 49 poultry farms, have been killed. Health workers have now begun cleaning up farms in the sprawling poultry-farming district. Teams have begun clearing litter and excreta of chickens in the entire area. A central health official said the government was considering a ban on retail sales of a generic bird flu drug, fearing the disease could develop resistance if taken by people who are not infected by the H5N1 strain. Two Indian pharmaceutical companies - Cipla Ltd. and Hetero Drugs Ltd. are currently making generic copies of Tamiflu, a patented drug from Swiss drug maker Roche that is believed to be effective in treating symptoms of bird flu in humans. Amid fears and mixed messages from the government, chicken sales have dropped across the country. Many airlines, Indian railways and the army took chicken and eggs off their menus. Parliament also stopped serving chicken in its cafeteria. However, many government officials tried hard to reassure people that properly cooked chicken and eggs were safe.