Bird Flu HIGHLIGHTS: Centre Deploys Team Of Multi-Disciplinary Experts To Districts Of Kerala, Haryana
Bird Flu, Avian Influenza Virus Live Updates: Bird flu not found in any poultry farm in the affected area says Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Bird flu scare continues to evoke panic across states, as Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala have reported confirmed cases of the disease. Several states have sprang into action and have issued directives to their respective animal husbandry departments to take preventive steps.
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Background
Bird Flu In India: As the country still grapples with coronavirus pandemic and its recent new variant, another health crisis has started looming as cases of bird flu have been confirmed in four Indian states so far: Rajasthan, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.
The bird flu is a disease that can spread to human beings and turn fatal.
In Himachal, the mass mortality of migratory waterbirds at Pong Dam Lake in Kangra district, testing positive for the dreaded avian influenza, has sent state’s wildlife authorities on an alert.
In Rajasthan, deaths of more than 170 new birds were reported from some districts on Monday, taking the total fatalities in recent days to over 425. "Bird flu has been confirmed only in Jhalawar (district). Report of other deaths is yet to come," according to the state animal husbandry department.
In Madhya Pradesh, bird flu virus was detected in around 50 crows whose carcasses were found in Indore last week, prompting authorities to issue an alert.
Bird Flu Live Updates: 40,000 birds to be culled in Kerala:
Several parts of Kerala reported the outbreak of avian influenza prompting the authorities to order culling of ducks, hens and other domestic birds within one km radius of the affected areas in Kottayam and Alappuzha districts. Officials said some 40,000 birds will have to be culled to check the spread of the H5N8 virus.
A farm in Kerala's Kottayam has recently seen deaths of around 1,500 ducks due to bird flu recently.
Influenza Virus: 1800 migratory birds dead in Himachal’s Pong wetlands, human activities banned within 10-km
The local administration of Himachal Pradesh has sounded an alert by banning all the human activities within 10-km radius of the Pong wetlands in Kangra district. This comes in the wake of death of over 1800 migratory waterbirds. Their carcasses have been sent to different laboratories to determine the cause of death.
Thiruvananthapuram: Over 69,000 birds including ducks and chicken were culled in the districts of Alappuzha and Kottayam to contain the H5N8 strain of bird flu, Kerala Animal Husbandry Minister K Raju said on Wednesday.
The minister said 61,513 birds including ducks and chicken have been culled in Alappuzha while 7,729 were culled in Kottayam.
Culling of ducks, hens and other domestic birds in and around one km radius of the affected areas in Alappuzha and Kottayam districts will be conducted as per the guidelines issued by the government.
The operation was launched after results of the samples tested at the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal confirmed the outbreak of the bird flu in the two districts.
The Union Health Ministry on Wednesday deployed multi-disciplinary teams to bird flu-affected Alappuzha and Kottayam districts of Kerala, and Haryana's Panchkula district.
Two multi-disciplinary teams comprising experts from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), National Institute of Virology, PGIMER Chandigarh, RML Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College in New Delhi, have been deployed to the affected districts on January 4 to assist the health departments of the states in implementing the health ministry's avian influenza containment plan, reported news agency PTI.
The sale of chicken has been prohibited in Agar in the wake of reported bird flu cases. Legal action will be taken against those found violating norm: Agar Municipal Corporation.
"Bird flu can be transmitted to humans too, so the need of the hour is to be alert and careful. Prevention is the solution to every problem," news agency ANI quoted Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat as saying.