News Analysis India

Tag: Bird Flu

  • Bird flu kills 90 more birds including 12 peacocks in Rajasthan

    By ANI
    JAIPUR: Amid the spread of Avian flu in various states of the country, Rajasthan Animal Husbandry Department reported the deaths of 90 birds in the state on Tuesday.

    The department said that out of the 90 dead birds; 56 were crows, 12 were peacocks, 14 were pigeons, and the rest were other birds.

    In total, the state has recorded the death of 6,849 birds between December 25, 2020, to January 26, 2021.

    “Among the dead birds were 4,799 crows, 409 peacocks, 583 pigeons and 1,058 others. Avian Influenza (Bird flu) has been confirmed in 17 districts,” the department said in its press release.

    A total of 67 birds have tested positive for the bird flu in the state.

    The spread of avian flu, earlier, led the neighbouring states to cut off the poultry exchange so as to contain it. This also led to losses in the poultry business in the affected states. 

  • 289 more birds found dead in Maharashtra, tally mounts to 18,700

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The tally of bird deaths in Maharashtra reached 18,700 with 289 more birds dying in various parts of the state on Monday, a state government official said on Tuesday.

    The samples of these birds have been sent to the Bhopal-based laboratory to find out whether they were infected by avian influenza pathogen, he said.

    “Out of these 289 birds, 260 were poultry birds while others are herons, parrots, crows etc,” the official said.

    He said 51,090 poultry birds, eight ducks, 38,798 eggs and 55,476 kg poultry feed have been destroyed until now in the infected zones in Maharashtra.

    Bird flu outbreak was confirmed in some districts of Maharashtra earlier this month.

    “Culling of poultry birds, destruction of eggs, droppings, manure, feed etc has been initiated in the radii of one-km around the infected poultry farms,” he said.

    Culling is basically the mass slaughter of domestic poultry birds, such as chickens and ducks, to contain the spread of bird flu.

    During this process, all domestic birds in an infected area, where cases of bird flu have been reported, are slaughtered and their remains are buried.

     

  • Bird flu confirmed in 12 Indian states for crow, migratory and wild birds: Centre

    Compensation is paid to farmers whose poultry birds, eggs and poultry feed are culled/disposed of by the state as per the action plan.

  • Three peacocks found dead due to bird flu in Maharashtra

    By PTI
    AURANGABAD: Amid cases of avian influenza reported from parts of Maharashtra, six birds, including three peacocks and two peahens, were found dead in Beed district of the state, officials said on Saturday.

    The samples of these birds, which were found dead on Friday, have been sent for testing to check if they died due to avian flu, they said.

    The carcasses of these birds were recovered from near Loni village located close to Balaghat mountain range in Shirur Kasar taluka of the district, an official from the animal husbandry department said.

    “Six birds were found dead in the hilly part near the village. Three of them were peacocks, while two were peahens The samples of these dead birds have been sent to a laboratory in Pune for testing,” he said.

    District animal husbandry officer Dr Vijay Deshmukh said the teams from the department were carrying out further formalities.

    When contacted, Dr Pradeep Aghav, an animal husbandry department official, who visited the spot, said that apart from the peafowls, one more wild bird was found dead there.

    “The birds apparently died on Friday morning and we were informed about it in the afternoon.

    Shirur Kasar taluka has reported death of 21 crows since January 12.

    The dead crows were recovered from eight villages and one of the samples had tested positive for the avian influenza,” he said.

    An official from the state animal husbandry department had said on Friday that samples of birds from 16 districts in Maharashtra have tested positive for avian flu.

    The first case of bird flu was reported in the state on January 8, he had said.

  • Samples of dead cranes in Delhi zoo test negative for bird flu: Officials

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: All 12 samples of dead cranes in the Delhi zoo have tested negative for bird flu, authorities said on Friday, a week after the first case of avian influenza was detected in its premises.

    “Four cranes were found dead in the Delhi zoo a few days ago. Twelve samples were collected on Monday and sent to National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) of Indian Council of Agricultural Research for testing, Bhopal,” Dr.Rakesh Singh, the director of the animal husbandry unit of the Delhi government, said.

    All the 12 samples have tested negative, he said.

    Last week, samples from a dead owl in the Delhi zoo had tested positive for avian influenza.

    ALSO READ: Over 52,000 poultry birds to be culled at Punjab’s Mohali

    Zoo Director Ramesh Pandey said they were following all protocols and monitoring the situation strictly.

    “We have been using the ebird mobile application to keep track of the birds in the premises of the zoo,” he said.

    This is the first time the application is being used for bird monitoring and record keeping during the outbreak of avian influenza.

    The application allows the user to enter sightings from anywhere in the world, even in areas with no cell service, or Internet access.

    Singh said that 1,338 bird deaths have been reported in Delhi between January 6 and January 21 amid the bird flu situation.

    ALSO READ: No bird flu in Karimnagar, poultry sector relieved

    Of the 207 samples collected from various places in the national capital, 24 have tested positive for avian influenza so far, he said.

    On Tuesday, authorities restricted the entry of public into the Red Fort till Friday after a sample of a dead crow tested positive for bird flu.

    Around 15 crows were found dead in the premises of the Red Fort on January 10.

    Last week, municipal corporations in the city had imposed a temporary ban on sale and storage of poultry or processed chicken meat after samples taken from crows and ducks at parks and lakes in the national capital tested positive for bird flu.

    Around 400 ducks were culled at Sanjay Lake on January 11.

    ALSO READ: Punjab reports first bird flu case as samples taken from dead goose test positive

    The Delhi government had also banned the sale of processed and packaged chicken brought from outside the city and ordered the closure of the Ghazipur poultry market in east Delhi for 10 days.

    However, the ban was lifted on Thursday after all the 100 samples taken from Ghazipur, Asia’s largest poultry market, tested negative.

  • Gidhali’s poultry farm sealed for fear of bird flu

    The animal department has completely sealed the GS Poultry farm of Gidhali after bird flu got infected and destroyed around 11,000 chickens in Gidhali near Kusumkasa in Balod district in Chhattisgarh. The gate has been closed by putting bamboo-ball on the main door and the board has also been pasted. The board has been warned that the poultry farm will remain closed as long as the bird flu is affected. At the same time, people living in a house within the radius of a kilometer apart from the poultry farm have been denied that any villager or operator of the poultry farm will keep rearing poultry, pigeon etc. as long as the bird flu remains infected. will not do.

    On the other hand, due to the bird flu, there is a possibility of a slowdown in the trade of cock-chickens. In the Balod district area including Dallirajhra, Kusumkasa, the rate of about 15 to 20 rupees has been reduced. At the same time, the poultry businessmen of the district are taking precaution regarding poultry farming. Here the consumption has come down partially after the introduction of bird flu. Poultry traders hope that in a few days everything will be back to normal. Bird flu has knocked, due to which crows are dying and chickens are also dying somewhere. The poultry industry in the district has started getting affected due to the amount of bird flu outbreak.

  • Punjab reports first bird flu case as samples taken from dead goose test positive

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Punjab has reported its first case of avian influenza with samples taken from a dead bar-headed goose testing positive for the flu’s H5N1 strain, forest and wildlife preservation department officials said on Wednesday.

    The goose was found dead near the Siswan Dam reservoir in Mohali and its samples were sent to the Northern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (NRDDL) in Jalandhar for testing on January 8, they said.

    The samples were then sent to the Bhopal-based Institute of High Security Animal Diseases testing after the NRDDL found it to be a suspected case of bird flu, the officials said.

    “Yesterday, we received a report which found it (samples) to be positive for H5N1,” said an official of the department.

    The officials said that a team of the animal husbandry department had also visited the reservoir area.

    Everyday 50 samples of bird dropping are being sent for testing, they said.

    Report of samples of taken from two poultry farms at Dera Bassi in Mohali are still awaited.

    These samples were sent to Bhopal for confirmation on January 15 after NRDDL tests found them positive for bird flu.

    Punjab sounded an alert earlier this month after bird flu cases were reported from several states and union territories in north India, including Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

  • No confirmed case of bird flu in Jharkhand

    By ANI
    RANCHI: Even as the avian influenza is spreading across various states, Jharkhand’s Director of Animal Husbandry Department, Nancy Sahay on Monday said there are no confirmed cases of bird flu in the state yet.

    Sahay said, “We have sent 4,014 samples for testing till January 17. No death was reported among poultry birds. As per the instructions by the Centre, we are not going to impose a ban on poultry products.”

    On January 12, Sahay said that death of poultry birds has been reported in the state so far.

    Moreover, Rapid Response Teams have been formed which are monitoring the situation across the state, she had added. 

  • Bird flu: Over 2,000 birds to be culled in 2 districts in Maharashtra

    By PTI
    AURANGABAD: Samples of dead hens found in two villages in Parbhani and Beed districts, both in Marathwada region, of Maharashtra have tested positive for bird flu, following which culling of over 2,000 birds is being carried out on Saturday, officials said.

    These samples were taken from Kupta village in Selu tehsil of Parbhani district and from Lokhandi Sawargaon village in Beed district.

    “These spots have been declared as a prohibitory area and culling process has begun there,” officials told PTI.

    They said transportation of poultry products has been stopped in these areas.

    Culling is basically the mass slaughter of domestic poultry birds, such as chickens and ducks, to contain the spread of bird flu.

    During the culling process, all domestic birds in an infected area, where cases of bird flu have been reported, are slaughtered and their remains are buried.

    “Earlier, samples of hens found dead in Kupta and Lokhandi Sawargaon were sent for testing. Their results confirming bird flu returned on Friday night,” officials told.

    “In Kupta, culling process will be undertaken on Saturday, and around 468 birds will be culled,” Collector Deepak Muglikar said.

    In Lokhandi Sawargaon village, about 1,600 birds are expected to be culled, said Dr Ravi Surewad of the Animal Husbandry department “We have formed two teams to carry out culling of birds in Lokhandi Sawargaon village. As the birds to be culled are not from poultries, it will take time to carry out the process. A 2-metre pit is ready. Calcium Carbonate is spread on the bed of this pit. Cervical dislocation of hens is done by our teams and they are placed in this pit,” he said.

    In Maharashtra, 3,949 birds have been found dead since January 8, officials said on Friday.

    Earlier, more than 3,400 poultry birds were culled at Murumba village in Parbhani district after bird flu was confirmed as the cause of death of hundreds of hens there.

    In Kendrewadi and Sukni villages of Latur district, also in Marathwada region, over 11,000 birds were culled earlier to stop the spread of bird flu infection.

    Cases of the avian influenza have been reported from Mumbai, Thane, Parbhani, Latur, Beed and Dapoli (Ratnagiri).

  • Rajnandgaon collector gave instructions to officials, immediately inform if signs of bird flu are seen

    Vigilance has also been increased in the district after confirmation of bird flu in neighboring states. Collector Topeshwar Verma held a meeting of the Poultry Farm businessmen of the district with officials of the Livestock Development Department regarding protection from bird flu infection. He told the businessmen that if hens show any symptoms of bird flu, then inform the animal department immediately so that safe measures can be taken in time.

    Rajnandgaon district adjoins the districts of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh state, where the bird flu has been confirmed. In such a situation, here too, more caution is needed. It is most important to stop its spread. The livestock department has been asked to follow the instructions issued for the poultry farm. Wherever chickens are sold in cities or villages, special care should be taken for cleanliness at these places. Instructions have also been given to dispose of the waste coming out of the hens.

    Special attention to cleanliness

    Collector Verma has asked the officers of the livestock department to constantly monitor the field. He said in the meeting that on appearing symptoms of bird flu, immediately take samples and take action. He said that special precautions should be taken to prevent bird flu. Special attention should be paid to cleanliness in the places where it is sold.