According to latest statistics, 560,000 poultry birds of 228 poultry farms in 40 districts have been culled across the country since the detection of the bird flu in Bangladesh in March last year.

Special Assistant in charge of the Livestock Ministry Maniklal Samaddar said on Monday that the government had taken all-out steps to check the spread of the bird flu.

Earlier, Samaddar said that so far 823 people were tested in the country but no bird flu virus was detected among them.

However, he urged the traders of kitchen markets to extend cooperation to the government in building awareness among the public.

In this regard, he mentioned that local government representatives, teachers of educational institutions and Imams of mosques were sent letters to create awareness regarding bird flu.

The avian influenza virus was first detected in a poultry farm in Savar, about 30 km northwest of Dhaka, in March 2007.

The situation has been getting worse since last month as the bird flu virus is spreading fast across the country, according to local media reports.