Central teams visit Bird flu affected sites in seven states

The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying on Sunday said that the central teams formed for monitoring the spread of bird flu are visiting the affected sites in seven states across the country.

The Ministry of Fisheries, mal Husbandry and Dairying on Sunday said that the central teams formed for monitoring the spread of bird flu are visiting the affected sites in seven states across the country.

After confirmation of avian influenza positive samples in poultry (at two poultry farms) of Panchkula district, Haryana, State has deployed nine Rapid Response teams and control and containment operation is underway in both the epicentres, according to a release by Ministry of Fisheries.

The ministry said samples of crow/wild birds have been confirmed for avian influenza (H5) from Surat district of Gujarat and Sirohi district of Rajasthan.

Further, reports of unusual deaths of 86 crows and 2 egrets were received from Kangra district (Himachal Pradesh). Reports of unusual mortality of wild birds have also been received from Nahan, Bilaspur and Mandi (Himachal Pradesh) and samples have been sent to the designated laboratory for testing.

The department has issued advisories to the affected States so as to avoid further spread of disease. So far, the disease has been confirmed in Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.

Test reports of the samples sent to the designated laboratory from Delhi, Maharashtra are still awaited. Further, no samples have been confirmed positive in wild birds from Balod district, Chhattisgarh which were tested earlier.

Control and containment have been completed in both the affected districts of Kerala and Post Operational Surveillance Programme guidelines have been issued to the State of Kerala.

The central teams formed for monitoring the situation in the affected areas of the country are visiting the affected sites. One of the central teams reached Kerala on January 9, and is presently monitoring the epicentre sites and conducting epidemiological investigation. Another central team reached Himachal Pradesh on Sunday and is undertaking survey in the affected areas.

As per the central government, states have been requested to build awareness among the public and avoid the spread of mis-information regarding AI. States/ UTs have been requested to increase surveillance around water bodies, live bird markets, zoos, poultry farms, etc proper disposal of carcass, and strengthening of bio-security in poultry farms.

Moreover, the ministry has issued an advisory to the affected states so as to avoid further spread of disease.

The Punjab Government has declared the whole state as a 'controlled area' due to outbreak of Avian bird flu and imposed complete ban on import of live birds including poultry and unprocessed poultry meat for any purpose in Punjab with immediate effect till January 15, 2021.

With bird flu reports making headlines across the country, chicken shop owners in Thiruvananthapuram said their business has been hit hard. The price of mutton has climbed up to Rs 800 per kilogram.

Meanwhile, the Kanpur Zoological Park has been shut down until further orders in the view of the bird flu outbreak. As many as 91 crows and 27 ducks were found dead across 15 Delhi Development Authority (DDA) parks in Delhi, the DDA said on Sunday.

Green Area Sanjay Lake at Trilokpuri Phase-I, II and III declared as 'Alert Zone'. Besides this, 104 samples have been sent for Bird Flu test, the reports of which are awaited.

According to Odisha Fisheries and mal Resources Development Department, during current bird migratory season, 12,369 samples have been collected and so far and no sample has been reported positive for avian influenza in Odisha.

( With inputs from ANI )