India confirmed its first bird flu infections in poultry on Saturday and began tests on eight human beings after 50,000 birds died in the western state of Maharashtra, officials said on Saturday. "We are testing eight humans for (the) bird flu virus in the affected area of Maharashtra," federal Health Secretary P.K. Hota told Reuters. "Their blood samples have been sent for testing in Pune. Four other people, including three children, are being kept under observation." But the official said so far there were "no clinical symptoms" in the cases. Test reports would be available in 72 hours, he said, adding all states had been advised to be on a "lookout". Maharashtra Animal Husbandry Minister Anees Ahmed earlier confirmed the presence of the H5N1 avian flu virus in some of the dead chickens in Nandurbar district, about 450 km (280 miles) north of Mumbai, the country's bustling commercial hub. Samples sent to a government laboratory in the central town of Bhopal had confirmed bird flu, he said.
