India reports outbreak of bird flu in northeast

GUWAHATI, India, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Authorities in India's northeastern state of Assam have ordered culling thousands of chicken and ducks after a fresh outbreak of bird flu in poultry was detected late on Thursday, a senior official said.

"We were informed that the samples sent to laboratories in Bhopal and Pune have been tested positive. So we have ordered for culling in the area, which will start today," R. C. Jain, a senior state government official, said in Guwahati on Friday.

"It is H5N1 stain," he said. (Reporting by Biswajyoti Das; Editing by Alistair Scrutton)