Bird Flu Update: Delhi's Ghazipur Mandi Closed For 10 Days, Kerala Culls Poultry Birds | 10 Points

The Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying said has issued an advisory to the affected states so as to avoid further spread of the disease.

(Image: PTI)

New Delhi: Bird flu outbreak has been confirmed in as many as seven states including Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, while test reports of sudden death of birds received from Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Delhi are awaited. The Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying said has issued an advisory to the affected states so as to avoid further spread of the disease. As per a statement issued by the ministry, after confirmation of avian influenza (AI) positive samples by the ICAR-NIHSAD from two poultry farms in Panchkula district in Haryana, positive cases of bird flu in migratory birds were reported in Shivpuri, Rajgarh, Shajapur, Agar and Vidisha district in Madhya Pradesh, the zoological park in Kanpur, and Pratapgarh and Dausa districts of Rajasthan. Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday announced that as part of the preventive measure to stop the spread of bird flu in the national capital, the wholesale poultry market in Delhi's Ghazipur will remain closed for the next 10 days and there will be a complete ban on import of live birds in the capital city. "There is no confirmed case of bird flu in Delhi so far. We have sent around 104 samples to a lab in Jalandhar, the reports will come by the day after tomorrow. The Delhi government will take the necessary decision based on reports," Kejriwal told reporters. Over the past few days, thousands of birds have been found dead across different states, triggering the alarm of another pandemic that is rising.  State including Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, and Rajasthan have confirmed the outbreak of the bird flu or the Avian Flu. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are also vigilant after 12,000 ducks died in the last few days in neighboring Kerala.

Bird Flu Outbreak in India | Top 10 Development 

1. Fearing the outbreak of Bird Flu, Delhi Chief Minister on Saturday ordered to shut down the wholesale poultry market of Ghazipur, for the next 10-days and banned the import of live birds in the national capital. 2. Over the past week, hundreds of birds have been found dead in the national capital, following which, the authorities have become vigilant, in order to curb the spread of the disease amid the Coronavirus pandemic. 3. According to officials, 11 rapid response teams have been set up to monitor Delhi's potential avian influenza (H5N8) hotspots. Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi has also instructed officials to maintain a strict vigil on birds at major bird sites, especially poultry markets, water bodies, zoos, and other potential hotspots. 4. The hotspots include Ghazipur Fish and Poultry Market, Shakti Sthal Lake, Sanjay Lake, Bhalswa Horseshoe Lake, Delhi Zoo, and smaller water bodies in DDA parks among others. 5. Due to the bird flu scare, the wholesale prices of poultry have dropped by around Rs 40 per kg in two days in Delhi, according to traders in the city’s wholesale markets. However, the drop in poultry prices is yet to reflect in retail markets, even as traders across the city said the number of customers has dipped slightly. 6. The Union Government on Saturday, issued a status report of avian influenza in the country, saying the disease has been confirmed in seven states. 7. Fearing the outbreak of the virus, in Kerala alone, Over 69,000 birds including ducks and chicken were culled in Alappuzha and Kottayam to contain flu and 19 Rapid Response Teams have been engaged in culling birds in both the districts. 8. Four lakh poultry birds have died in Haryana's Panchkula district alone in the last 10 days. However, the state is yet to confirm the outbreak. 9. In India, no case of bird flu in humans has been detected so far, according to the Union health ministry. The department of animal husbandry has reported 25 episodes of H5N1 bird flu in poultry in 15 states from 2006 (when the first outbreak occurred in Maharashtra and Gujarat) till 2015. It has also been detected in crows. 10. Bird Flu’s first case was reported in Hong Kong’s live bird market in 1997, It was the H5N1 strain of the virus, and 6 out of 18 infected humans died of the disease.