GUWAHATI, India (AFP) - Authorities were bracing to contain a suspected bird flu outbreak in another Indian state bordering Bangladesh, a senior official said.

Health workers in remote Tripura began readying for "preventive measures" including mass slaughter after about 3,000 birds died in the past week, Ashish Roy Burman, director of Tripura's Animal Resources Development Department, said Sunday.

"Clinical symptoms indicate it could be bird flu," Burman said by phone adding that the poultry deaths were reported from Kamalpur area, 180 kilometres (112 miles) north of state capital Agartala.

"Blood samples have been sent to be tested and the final reports are expected tomorrow (Monday)," he said, adding that the culling would start as soon as the results were in.

Health workers, meanwhile, were keeping a sharp eye out for people with flu-like symptoms, he added.

India reported a confirmed outbreak of bird flu earlier this year in West Bengal state, which also borders Bangladesh.

West Bengal had briefly contained the outbreak that came to light in January by slaughtering about four million birds but the virus resurfaced last month causing authorities to order a fresh cull.

India, which reported its first outbreak of avian flu in 2006 in western Maharashtra state, has not reported any human infections so far.

Health experts however fear the H5N1 strain could mutate into a form easily transmitted from person to person, leading to a pandemic.

str-er/pst

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