Some 700,000 chickens are to be slaughtered in western India, following the discovery of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, a senior official said Monday. Officials had earlier put the number at 500,000. However, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said 700,000 birds in 48 farms in Navapur district would be killed by late Tuesday to prevent the spread of the disease, according to a report of the Associated Press.
