Bird flu confirmed in Delhi and Maharashtra
The Animal Husbandry Department of Delhi government on Monday confirmed cases of bird flu in the national capital. "Eight samples from dead crows and ducks were sent for testing. All the samples tested positive for avian flu," said the Animal Husbandry Department. As many as 91 crows and 27 ducks were found dead across 15 Delhi Development Authority (DDA) parks in Delhi on Sunday. According to an official release, Green Area Sanjay Lake at Trilokpuri Phase-I, II and III was declared as 'Alert Zone'.
Meanwhile, a total of 24 crows were also reported dead at the District Park and Plantation at Sarita Vihar. Four crows were also reported dead at the central nursery located in Sector 5, Dwarka. All the dead crows were buried deep into the ground, and requisite preventive measures are being taken as per the advisory of the Animal Husbandry Department.
As many as 16 crows were also dead in Hastsal Park. As a precautionary measure park is closed till further orders.
Earlier today, Maharashtra too had confirmed the presence of avian flu with test results showing that 800 chickens died of the flu at Murumba village in Parbhani district.
Besides Delhi and Maharashtra, the outbreak has been confirmed in Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.
Bird flu has been confirmed as the cause of death of around 900 hens in the last few days at a poultry farm in Maharashtra's Parbhani district, a senior official said on Monday. The district administration has now decided to cull nearly 8,000 birds in Murumba village where these hens died, Collector Deepak Muglikar said.
Earlier, Muglikar on Saturday said around 900 hens had died at a poultry farm, run by a Self-Help Group (SHG), in the village and their samples were sent for testing.
"The cause of death has been confirmed as bird flu. Hence, we have decided to cull all the birds in a one-km radius of the place where these deaths took place," the collector said.
"We have created a prohibitory zone in 10 km radius of the area where the birds died. No birds will be transported from there to any other place. Our medical team is stationed there and it is examining all people of the village," he said.
There is no need to be panic and the district administration is taking all precautions.
The bird flu outbreak has already been confirmed in Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.
The central government on Sunday said it has directed zoo managements to submit daily reports to the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) till their area is declared free from the disease.
The CZA, under the environment ministry, issued an office memorandum saying avian influenza is a scheduled disease under the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animals Act, 2009, and reporting such a disease is obligatory for taking appropriate preventive measures against its spread.
