# 1521
Hard to believe, but it was just 1 week ago today that India's Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar, said that the outbreak in West Bengal is "a limited problem", that they've taken "immediate action", and he is "confident the situation will be normalized".
Today we learn that outbreaks have occurred in 2 more districts, making at total of 9 districts affected in West Bengal.
Slow action on the part of the West Bengal Authorities, compounded by a tepid reaction by The Centre (New Delhi) once notified, and resistance to culling by villagers (including smuggling birds to other districts for safety) have all conspired to spread the disease.
The following excerpts come from the BBC.
W Bengal bird flu 'is spreading'
Last Updated: Wednesday, 23 January 2008, 10:52 GMT
Officials in the Indian state of West Bengal say that the bird flu epidemic has spread to two more of the state's 19 districts, taking the total to nine.
They say that the spread of the H5N1 virus means that even more chicken and duck will have to be killed than was originally estimated.
On Monday officials said that around 2m birds would need to be culled - a figure that will now rise.
Health experts have warned that the outbreak could get out of control.
<snip>
'Very serious'
West Bengal's Minister for animal research and development, Anisur Rehman, told the BBC there are currently 650 culling teams in the state.
Villagers are reported to be reluctant to hand over birds
They have now been ordered to extend their chicken and duck killing operation from seven to nine districts.
He said that one of the districts most recently affected, Hoogly, is close to Calcutta and contains the state's largest chicken hatchery - which has not yet been affected.
Mr Rehman said that another district recently hit by the virus, Cochbihar, is close to the border with Bangladesh.
West Bengal has sealed a stretch of its border with Bangladesh, which has been fighting to contain the spread of bird flu since March last year.
Experts in Bangladesh have warned that the outbreak of the virus is far worse than the government is reporting.
"Bird flu is now everywhere. Every day we have reports of birds dying in farms," leading Bangladeshi poultry expert MM Khan told the AFP news agency.
"Things are now very serious and public health is [in] danger," he said, alleging that farmers were reluctant to report new cases.
