The confirmation came after the state government, whose capital is Calcutta, issued an alert in the area a day earlier, the Press Trust of India reported.

A government official said the outbreak is localized in the districts of Birbhum and South Dinajpur, but trade and movement of the birds have been restricted as a precautionary step.

The BBC reported mass culling was under way in the region after several thousand birds died in the past week.

The report said India has controlled previous outbreaks of bird flu.