DHAKA, June 27 (Reuters) - Bird flu has spread to another district in Bangladesh forcing health and veterinary workers to cull 5,000 chickens, officials said on Wednesday. The latest case was reported from a village in Thakurgaon district, 500 km (310 miles) northwest of the capital, Dhaka, said Abdul Motalib, a senior officer of the fisheries and livestock ministry. The H5N1 strain of bird flu was first detected near the capital Dhaka, in central Bangladesh, in March and has since spread to northern districts. Sixteen out of Bangladesh's 64 districts have been affected by the virus, but there have been no reported cases of human infection. About four million Bangladeshis are directly or indirectly associated with poultry farming.
