Avian influenza in poultry birds confirmed in six states so far

The Centre on Wednesday said bird flu in poultry has been confirmed so far in six states -- Kerala, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Punjab.

Across all birds, avian influenza has been reported in 12 states.

"Till 20th January, 2021 outbreaks of Avian Influenza have been confirmed in 6 states (Kerala, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Punjab) for poultry birds and in 10 States (Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Rajasthan and Punjab) for crow/migratory/wild birds," an official statement said.

Avian Influenza has been confirmed in poultry samples from Dera Bassi, SAS Nagar, Punjab. The disease has also been confirmed in crow in Punjab (SAS Nagar and Pinjore, Panchkula).

"Control and Containment Operations are going on in the affected epicentres of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Haryana," as per the statement by the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

The central team formed for monitoring the situation in the affected areas of the country has visited Satara, Latur, Parbhani and Beed districts of Maharashtra to monitor the epicenters of the outbreak and is conducting epidemiological studies.

"All the States are reporting to the Department on daily basis regarding the control measures adopted by the States/UTs based on the Revised Action Plan for Preparedness, Control and Containment of Avian Influenza 2021," it added.

The Department of Animal Husbandry is taking continuous efforts to generate awareness about avian influenza through platforms, including social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook handles.

"Further, at the Department's behest, Ministry of Civil Aviation has requested DGCA to advise the airlines to allow transportation of samples suspected for Avian Influenza to NIHSAD, Bhopal for confirmation of the disease," it said.