Kolkata: Authorities in eastern India fighting an outbreak of bird flu in poultry said on Sunday that there were no fresh reports of bird deaths.

"The situation appears to be slowly coming under control, but we are still waiting for test reports of dead bird samples from a few other places," said Anisur Rahaman, the animal resources minister for West Bengal. "It could still spread further," he added.

India's government says laboratory tests have confirmed bird flu outbreaks in at least two of West Bengal's 19 districts.

Hundreds of policemen and veterinary staff continued to check trucks carrying chickens and eggs to Kolkata, while healt officials checked markets for sick chickens and ducks.

"But we are still checking sick people and poultry for bird flu and trying to stop the virus from hitting the bigger cities," Rahaman said.

Authorities have banned dozens of poultry farms from sending products to Kolkata, officials said.