Malda, March 19: Bird flu has been confirmed in a government farm in Malda where 872 chickens have died in the past three days.

The farm has over 2,000 more chickens and 13,000 chicks.

Samples of dead birds from the farm tested positive for the H5N1 virus in the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal.

In Calcutta, animal reso-urce development minister Anisur Rahman said: “We have already put together a team for culling. It will start work tomorrow.”

But district magistrate Chittaranjan Das said the job could not be started before Friday because of the lack of protective gear.

Das also said: “We had anticipated the test result and were prepared for it.”

Over 45,000 poultry birds would have to be culled in the farm and neighbouring areas, the minister said.

Nikhil Shee, the deputy director of the district animal resource department, said all the chickens in the infected farm laid eggs — that is, they were not broiler chickens meant for human consumption. The eggs are incubated and sold to poultry farmers in Malda and the neighbouring districts.

On January 22, the Bhopal laboratory had found the bird flu virus in dead-bird samples sent from neighbouring Chanchol I block. Over 85,000 chickens were culled in the area then.