Bird flu in poultry confirmed in few more places in Kerala, Maha

Bird flu in poultry birds has been confirmed in a few more districts of Kerala and Maharashtra, while culling operations are continuing in epicentres, the Centre said on Tuesday.

The disease has been confirmed in other birds such as crow and migratory birds in Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh as well as in Rupnagar district of Punjab.

So far, bird flu cases have been reported in total 12 states across the country, out of which five -- Haryana, Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh -- have confirmed the disease in poultry birds, it said.

In India, bird flu or avian influenza is spread mainly by migratory birds coming into the country during winter months between September and March. The disease is zoonotic.

In a statement, the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying said: "Till 19th January, outbreaks of avian influenza have been confirmed in five states for poultry birds and in 10 states for crow/migratory/ wild birds." In Kerala, the disease in poultry birds has been confirmed from Allapuzha district.

In Maharashtra, the viral infection in poultry birds has been confirmed in districts of Nanded (Chikhari and Talahari villages), Satara ( Marai Wadi), Latur (Davangaon), Nagpur ( Waranga), Gadchiroli (Gadchiroli), Mumbai (Kalyan,Thane) and Beed (Warati).

The ministry said containment operations in the epicentres of Parbhani district and the Central Poultry Development Organisation (CPDO), Mumbai have been completed and sanitisation is under process.

In all other affected epicentres, rapid response teams (RRTs) have been deployed and culling of poultry birds is underway. Surveillance work is continued at the places where positive results have been reported in crows/migratory/wild birds, it said.

Further, in Madhya Pradesh (districts of Harda and Mandsaur) culling operations have been completed. In Chhattisgarh (district Balod), RRTs have been deployed for culling of poultry birds in 1 km radius of epicentres of the outbreak in poultry, it added.

In Haryana, culling operation of poultry is continuing in the epicentres of Panchkula district, the ministry said. The central team formed for monitoring the situation in the affected areas of the country is visiting the sites and has visited Raigad and Pune districts of Maharashtra and is conducting epidemiological studies.

The Central government is taking continuous efforts to generate awareness about the disease through platforms including social media like Twitter and Facebook handles, it added.

The 12 states where bird flu outbreak has been confirmed are -- Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and Punjab.