Bird Flu in India 2021 Latest Updates: Cases reported in Kerala, Himachal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan

Bird Flu cases have been reported from several places in the country. In Himachal Pradesh, the Kangra Kangra District Magistrate today issued order, completely prohibiting sale/purchase/export of any poultry/birds/fish of any breed/age and their related products (eggs, meat, chicken etc) in Fatehpur, Dehra, Jawali and Indora areas of Kangra. No movement of humans shall be allowed within one km radius of Pong Dam or alert zone declared by Kangra district administration, said the official order.

Samples of five dead bar-headed goose birds at Wildlife Sanctuary, Pong Dam, Himachal Pradesh have been found positive for H5N1 avian influenza virus, ANI reported. Dr Vikram Singh, a senior veterinary pathologist of State Animal Husbandry Department, said that for the last 3-4 days, there has been large-scale mortality among bar-headed goose (migratory birds). As per the latest records, around 1,775 birds have died in the last few days.

Bird Flu in Rajasthan

Officials in the state said on Monday (January 4, 2021) that over 170 new bird deaths were reported in Rajasthan today. As per the Animal Husbandry department, over 425 deaths of crows, herons and other birds have been reported in the state so far, PTI reported.

The officials said that in Jhalawar, carcass samples sent to the National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) confirmed bird flu recently. However, the death report of birds in other districts is yet to come. “Deaths of over 425 birds, mostly crows, have been reported in parts of the state so far. Bird flu has been confirmed only in Jhalawar. Report of other deaths is yet to come,” PTI quoted the officials as saying.

Bird flu in Kerala

The bird flu outbreak has been reported from some parts of Kottayam and Alappuzha districts in Kerala. The authorities have ordered culling of ducks, hens and other domestic birds in and around one km radius of the affected areas.

According to a PTI report, Kottayam district authorities said bird flu was reported from a duck farm in Neendoor. Around 1,500 ducks have died in the farm. Similarly, bird flu outbreak was also reported from some farms in Kuttanad region of Alappuzha district.

The State Animal Husbandry Minister K Raju said in Thiruvananthapuram that the government would compensate farmers whose domestic birds will be culled. According to the state officials, some 40,000 birds will have to be culled to check the spread of the H5N8 virus.

Bird Flu in Madhya Pradesh

Bird flu cases have been confirmed in dead crows in Indore in Madhya Pradesh.

Bird Flu in Himachal Pradesh

Bird flu has been detected in the state in the migratory birds found dead at Pong Dam Lake in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district. Himachal is the fourth state to report cases of the dreaded avian influenza in recent days. As many as 1,800 migratory birds, most of them bar-headed geese, were found dead in the lake sanctuary so far. PTI reported Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Archana Sharma as saying that the laboratory at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute in Bareilly detected avian influenza in the samples of dead birds.