Bird flu confirmed in Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala, Centre set up a control room for surveillance

Shikha Chaurasia

Pune, January 06, 2021: The governments of Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala have reported bird flu cases so far. Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan gave this information on Wednesday. Talking to news agency ANI, Balyan said that the outbreak of bird flu is not a new thing in India and since 2015, some cases of the disease occur during winter in the country every year.

However, till date, there has not been a case of a human being infected with it. Balyan said that state governments have been asked to take all appropriate measures to prevent its spread. The central government has set up a control room in Delhi to seek information from the states.

Earlier in an official statement, the Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries said that in Rajasthan, bird flu has been detected in ravens in Baran, Kota and Jhalawar districts. At the same time, the disease has been confirmed in crows in Mandsaur, Indore and Malwa districts of Madhya Pradesh. In Himachal Pradesh, bird flu has been reported in migratory birds in Kangra, while it has been reported in poultry-duck in Kottayam and Allapuzha districts in Kerala. The ministry said that on January 1, 2021, an advisory was issued to Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to prevent further spread of the infection.

The chicken trade has been banned in Madhya Pradesh from the states of South India for some time. Several states have issued warnings to control the H5N8 strain of bird flu and have sent samples of dead birds for examination. At the same time, killings of chickens and ducks have started in Kerala. In view of the situation in the neighbouring state, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have increased surveillance and issued necessary guidelines regarding this.

Bird flu Updates:

High alert issued in Karnataka

High alert is going on to stop the spread of bird flu in Karnataka. The entry of chickens and other birds from Kerala was banned in the state on Wednesday. Mysore District Collector Rohini Sindhuri said that after the bird flu case surfaced in Kerala, the district administration banned entry into the Kote taluk of the Mysore-Kerala border.

Kerala: Preparations for bird flu detection in humans

District Collector M Anjana of Kottayam in Kerala has said that bird flu has been detected in ducks in Nendoor Panchayat. All 10,000 birds of the region must have been killed. The process of testing to detect its symptoms in humans has also been started.

Flu spread in poultry in Haryana 

Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan has said that we have received information about bird flu from five states Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala. In Haryana, it has also spread to poultry. In addition, the virus has been found in wild and migratory birds. It can spread to humans, but no such case has been reported in India so far. There is no cure for this. All state governments have been asked to take precautionary measures.

Madhya Pradesh: Prohibition on poultry trade from the states of South India

Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan said that bird flu was not found in any poultry farm. Bird flu has been found in the southern states including Kerala. We will ban the rooster and chicken that come from these states. No need to worry, we are monitoring the whole situation.

53 birds died in Jhalawar on Tuesday. 

Vikram Singh, joint director of the animal husbandry department in Jhalawar, Rajasthan, said about 100 crows died in the epicentre. In addition, many peacocks, pigeons, and koyals are dead. Yesterday, about 53 birds were killed. It can be due to bird flu.

Madhya Pradesh: Monitoring order at the district level

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan held a meeting with the concerned departments regarding avian flu. Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang said that Honourable Chief Minister held a high-level meeting today on the issue of bird flu and directed for the entire issue of bird flu monitoring at the district level. The Government of Madhya Pradesh is taking stock of this entire situation. Random checking in the districts on the instructions of the Chief Minister will ensure that this (bird flu) virus does not spread in the poultry farm. So far this virus has not spread in poultry and chicken. It is reported that the virus has spread among birds of food in Kerala. The Chief Minister has directed that the poultry which is imported from the states including the southern state of Kerala, it should be monitored and we will ensure that the virus does not spread anywhere.

Centre built control room

After the confirmation of bird flu in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala, the Animal Husbandry and Dairy Department of the Government of India has set up a control room in New Delhi to seek information from state officials on a daily basis.

155 crows died in Indore 

Since the confirmation of bird flu in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, a week ago, 155 crows have died. In Rajasthan, after Jhalawar, birds have been found infected in Kota and Baran. However, no case has been registered so far in Maharashtra, which shares a border with Madhya Pradesh.

Haryana: Over four lakh chickens have died in the last 10 days

Around 1,700 ducklings died due to the flu in Kerala. Over four lakh chickens have died in Panchkula district of Haryana in the last 10 days. The state’s Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairy has said whether avian influenza is the cause of death of these birds has not been confirmed yet. According to an official spokesperson, samples of these have been sent to the Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Jalandhar. The report is still awaited.

Himachal Pradesh 2,700 migratory birds found dead

Himachal Pradesh officials surveyed the area around Pong Dam Lake Sanctuary in Kangra district to check the spread of flu in domestic birds there. A day before, the dead migratory birds were found infected with bird flu. State animal husbandry officials said that 2,700 migratory birds have been found dead in the lake area and samples have been sent for testing.

Bird killing in Kerala

The bird-killing operation has started within a one-kilometre radius of the affected areas at Alappuzha and Kottayam in Kerala. The results of the samples were confirmed at the National Institute of High Security Animal Disease in Bhopal in these two districts a day earlier. According to officials, rapid response teams formed by the administration have started killing ducks, chickens and other domestic birds as per the guidelines.