NEW DELHI, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Authorities in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh have issued an alert and a series of containment measures following the outbreak of bird flu (Avian Influenza H5N1), officials said Thursday.

The outbreak has been reported in Eluru, West Godavari, East Godavari, Krishna and NTR districts of the state, where over half a million poultry birds had died over the last three days.

Officials from the state's animal husbandry department have collected samples and sent them for testing.

"The officials from the department collected samples from the perished birds and sent them to the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal for analysis. Laboratory tests confirmed the presence of the avian influenza virus," a senior animal husbandry official in Andhra Pradesh, T Damodar Naidu, said in a statement released to local media.

The animal husbandry department has formed 721 rapid response teams to monitor and control the spread of bird flu in the state. The officials are trying to implement strict control measures to prevent further escalation of the outbreak.

The rapid response teams are also enforcing strict biosecurity measures and disinfection protocols.

Authorities have also deployed teams from the police, revenue and forest departments to assist the animal husbandry officials.

Reports said the affected areas in these districts house around 350 poultry farms, producing approximately 24 million eggs a day.

As a precautionary measure, officials have instructed poultry farms, chicken shops, and egg-selling outlets in the affected regions to shut down their operations immediately until further orders.

Officials suspect the outbreak has spread through migratory birds or infected poultry transported from other regions.

Bird flu is highly contagious, affecting various animals, with rare cases of human infection. Enditem

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