Outbreak of bird flu in different parts of Indian States

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Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan and including other states on Monday confirmed bird flu to be the cause of death of hundreds of birds. Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand given alerts on the disease. According to the chief conservator of forests, Dharamshala, Upasana Patiyal, the death of migratory birds 2,300 till Monday in the Pong Dam reservoir area in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh was due to avian influenza. As a precaution, the state government has banned the sale, purchase and slaughter of poultry in Fatehpur, Dehra, Jawali and Indora sub-divisions of Kangra district. Export of poultry products and fish has also been stopped. The animal husbandry department staff has been directed to constitute rapid response teams to tackle the spread of the disease. According to the Kerala’s minister for forests, wildlife and animal husbandry K Raju bird flu was reported in Kottayam and Alappuzha and that 12,000 ducks were killed by the disease. Authorities have been instructed to cull all birds within a one-kilometre radius of the areas in which it was reported. This would include all types of poultry and ornamental birds. 36,000 birds will have to be culled to avoid further spread of the disease. This is the third outbreak of bird flu in Alappuzha over the past seven years. According to the Information from collector Alexander, as per the estimate of the animal husbandry department, 34,602 birds (mainly ducks) need to be culled in Kuttanad and it will be completed in three days. These include 5,975 birds in Nedumudi, 11,250 birds in Thakazhi, 4,627 birds in Pallippad and 12,750 birds in Karuvatta. The National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal has confirmed that the death of crows in Rajasthan’s Jhalawar was due to bird flu. The toll, mostly crows, reached 522 on Monday. According to the Information from Director, animal husbandry, Virendra Singh, the highest number of crow deaths, 36, was reported in Jaipur. Till January 4,391 crows have died across the state.