On Monday, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Kerala confirmed bird flu is the cause of death of hundreds of birds along with other states, which includes Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Jharkhand, alerting about the disease.

The death of almost 2,300 migratory birds in the Pong Dam reservoir area which is in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh was because of avian influenza. The chief conservator of forests, Dharamshala, in Upasana Patiyal, confirmed this on Monday. The state government has banned the sale, purchase and also the slaughter of poultry in Dehra, Fatehpur, Jawali and Indora sub-divisions of the Kangra district as a precautionary measure. The export of fish and poultry products has also been stopped.

Minister of Kerala’s wildlife and animal husbandry, K Raju said that almost 12,000 ducks were killed due to the disease. Authorities are instructed to cast-off all birds within one kilometre radius of the areas where it was reported. It will include all types of poultry and ornamental birds. He further said that 36,000 birds should becast-off to avoid the further spread of this disease.

In Alappuzha, this is the third outbreak of bird flu in the past 7 years. Collector A. Alexander said that according to the estimate of the animal husbandry department, almost 34,602 birds (mostly ducks) need to be removed in Kuttanad and it will take three days. It includes 11,250 birds in Thakazhi, 5,975 birds in Nedumudi, 12,750 birds in Karuvatta and 4,627 birds in Pallippad.

The National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal also confirmed that the crow’s death in Rajasthan’s Jhalawar was because of bird flu. The total count, mostly of crows, had reached 522 on Monday. Virendra Singh, who is a Director of animal husbandry, said that the highest number of crow deaths, 36, was reported in Jaipur. Till January 4, 391 crows have died across the state.

Two new cases were recorded in Jhalawar and 12 deaths in Kota and Baran along with 11 deaths in Bikaner. Six deaths were recorded in Dausa district, i.e. two crows and four herons. The death of one heron and four crows was recorded in Jodhpur.

Forest department officials said that post-mortems have shown that the birds might have died of poisoning, after the death of almost 53 birds at Bantva in Gujarat’s Junagadh.

Madhya Pradesh has issued an alert due to an H5N8 avian influenza outbreak, killing 160 crows and two herons in Indore in the last one week. Animal husbandry department officials in each district are told to be on the alert and follow the SOPs to contain the spread of the virus. Up to now, there is no evidence of poultry transmission.

Due to the bird deaths in Himachal, the animal husbandry department of Punjab’s Pathankot district has started taking the precautions to prevent the spread of possible infection in poultry birds from migratory birds. Chicken’s mystery shrouds deaths as the cause remains questionable.

Source: ET Healthworld