No bird flu in Maharashtra yet, says state government

A forest department official picks a sick crow from a roadside in Jaipur on Tuesday. Pic/PTI

With no sign of the avian influenza in Maharashtra yet, the state government has ordered that concerned authorities collect samples of the poultry and test them for the virus causing the bird flu.

In a revised guideline issued on Thursday, joint commissioner of Animal Husbandry, Disease Investigation Section, Pune, asked for the collection of samples of about 600-800 birds from each taluka, of which 145-190 would be tested for the virus.

The state has 7,27,79,540 poultry in seven regions, and Pune, Nashik and Mumbai together account for over three-fourth of the total population. The sample collection plan has been revised as per the Centre's guidelines which are based on the norms of the World Organisation for Animal Health.

"In view of the current situation in the country, it is important to conduct surveillance as per the revised sampling plan," the order states. The plan specifies the number of villages to be selected in each taluka for sampling. Till now, the annual sampling plans were based on the 2015 guidelines, but the global outbreak which has reached Maharashtra's border areas - Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat - has the Centre and states on high alert even as the novel Coronavirus continues to threaten lives."

Thane birds test -ve

The sudden death of a dozen of birds in Thane's Vijay Garden Society had sparked fear on Wednesday. But, the samples from the dead birds did not test positive for avian influenza, said Animal Husbandry Minister Sunil Kedar. "Thankfully, till now there are no reports of bird flu in Maharashtra, but we are on high alert," Kedar said.

Kedar said precautions and surveillance were paramount because the state was already fighting against the Coronavirus and its mutated form. "We can't afford to be complacent. We have the experience of controlling the avian influenza's strong wave in 2006," he added.

In February 2006, Navapur in Nandurbar districts had reported the bird flu virus (H5N1), which had led to culling of several lakh birds, and eggs were also destroyed. Though the outbreak was contained to the infected area, the poultry business in the country took a heavy toll for many months.