Bird flu confirmed in 7 states, test reports from elsewhere awaited

Health workers in protective suits cull ducks after the H5N8 bird flu strain was detected, in Karuvatta of Alapuzha district some 90 Kms from Kochi. Pic/AFP

Bird flu has been confirmed in seven states of the country so far, namely Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, while test reports of unsual death of birds received from Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Delhi are awaited, the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying said on Saturday.

As per a statement issued by the ministry, after confirmation of avian influenza (AI) positive samples by the ICAR-NIHSAD from two poultry farms in Panchkula district in Haryana, positive cases of bird flu in migratory birds were reported in Shivpuri, Rajgarh, Shajapur, Agar and Vidisha district in Madhya Pradesh, the zoological park in Kanpur, and Pratapgarh and Dausa districts of Rajasthan.

The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAH&D) has issued an advisory to the affected states so as to avoid further spread of the disease.

Reports of unusual mortality of birds in the past two days have also been received from Balod district in Chhattisgarh. The state has constituted RRT teams for emergency situation and has also sent the samples for testing to the designated laboratory.

Further, reports of unusual mortality in ducks have been received from Sanjay Lake in Delhi. The samples have been sent to the designated laboratory for testing. Samples of dead crows have also been sent to NIHSAD from Mumbai, Thane, Dapoli, Parbhani and Beed districts of Maharashtra for confirmation of AI.

Meanwhile culling operations have been completed in both the affected districts of Kerala and post-operational surveillance programme guidelines have been issued to the state.

Central teams deployed to visit the affected states in Kerala, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh for monitoring and for epidemiological investigation have reached their destinations, the DAH&D said.

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