Authorities in a remote northeastern state of India prepared to cull thousands of chickens after a fresh outbreak of bird flu in poultry was detected on Tuesday, officials said. More than 25,000 chickens and ducks have already been slaughtered in Tripura state this month after eight villages were hit by the H5N1 strain. On Tuesday, officials said bird flu had spread to a new area. “Bird flu has been confirmed for the second time in Tripura,” Kartick Debbarma, a senior animal resources official said in Agartala, Tripura's capital. “It is the H5N1 strain.” __
