Bird Flu outbreak in India: Control room set up in Delhi; mass bird deaths in many states

After confirmation of bird flu in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying under the Government of India has set up a control room in New Delhi to take stock on a daily basis of preventive and control measures undertaken by State authorities. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu has activated all check posts to prevent the entry of poultry from Kerala into the state whereas the Madhya Pradesh government has called for an emergency meeting to discuss the outbreak.

Central government on high alert over Bird Flu

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change wrote to states and UTs, requesting them to take possible precautions to prevent the transmission of diseases, if any, in other animals or birds and human beings. The Union Ministry has directed state governments to set up state-level monitoring committees for migratory birds and develop action plans dealing with any emergency. "Samples have been tested at the ICAR-National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases, Bhopal, and have been found to be positive for H5Nl Avian Influenza Virus," the letter said. 

"All deaths of migratory birds—their number and cause are to be reported to the Environment Ministry immediately," the letter stated. Meanwhile, culling of chickens and ducks began on Tuesday in parts of Kerala to contain the H5N8 strain of bird flu, while Jammu and Kashmir sounded an alert and started collecting samples from migratory species, according to PTI.

Bird flu scare

In Haryana, over four lakh poultry birds have died at farms in Panchkula district in the past 10 days, officials said, adding a team from Jalandhar's Regional Disease Diagnosis Laboratory has collected samples. There are no confirmed reports of avian influenza till now, an RDDL spokesperson said.

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In Madhya Pradesh, officials said that 155 dead crows in Indore have been found with the H5N8 strain since the pathogen was first detected in the city a week back, while in Rajasthan, after Jhalwar, birds in Kota and Baran were found with the infection. However, no cases have been reported yet in Maharashtra, which shares borders with Madhya Pradesh.

Officials in Himachal Pradesh surveyed the area around the Pong Dam Lake sanctuary in Kangra district to check the spread of the flu to domestic poultry birds, a day after samples of dead migratory birds there tested positive for H5N8. Till now, 2,700 migratory birds, mostly bar-headed geese, have been found dead in the lake area and samples have been sent for testing, state animal husbandry officials said.

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(With agency inputs)