Dhaka, Mar 25: The interim government in Bangladesh has roped in the country's Army to begin a massive culling of chickens after cases of Bird Flu were reported here.

The Government's decision to involve Army was taken up after workers at a state-run poultry farm protested against the culling.

Local authorities have already been ordered to begin slaughtering of chickens in order to prevent the disease spreading through the densely populated nation.

At least six poultry farms in and around Dhaka have reported the presence of the H5N1 strain of the avian flu virus in their chickens, thereby leading to a countrywide alert.

Earlier, on Saturday, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock Adviser to the government, Chowdhury S Karim, told reporters that the deadly H5N1 strain in chicks had been detected near Dhaka on Thursday, leading veterinary teams to cull over 36,000 birds in six farms located in Savar and Gazipur.

The government claimed that no other cases were detected from any parts of the country, asking the general people not to panic.

Officials at the livestock ministry said the teams had so far culled a total of 36,000 chicks, of which 27,108 chicks were destroyed from four farms in Savar and 8,892 from two farms in Gazipur following confirmation of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in poultry samples.

There are at least 1,52,000 poultry farms across the country of which 52,000 are registered.