Bird flu: Maharashtra government issues red alert, asks district officials to keep strict vigil

After the cases of bird flu were reported from as many as five states, the state government has issued the red alert in the state of Maharashtra and instructed the district officials to keep a vigil in their respective jurisdictions. The development was announced by the state Animal Husbandry Minister Sunil Kedar today, news agency ANI reported. The minister told ANI that so far no case of bird flu has been reported from any parts of the state and the government had issued the alert in view of the reported cases of bird flu from five states.

The minister further said that Maharashtra shares its border with some of the states where bird flu cases have been reported; that is why the government has issued the red alert. So far Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Rajasthan have reported cases of bird flu in the country. The minister further added that the state government has already made provisions for medicine and vaccination in case any bird flu cases are reported from the state.

The minister also clarified that the dead birds found in Thane district were not infected with the Avian Influenza virus and the reports of their samples had turned negative. Expressing concern about the number of bird flu cases reported from different states, the minister said that it would be difficult to tackle the bird flu outbreak amidst the Coronavirus pandemic in the country. He also added that he had called a meeting with the Animal Husbandry Commissioner and would discuss the current situation. Experts have cautioned that the disease quickly spreads from one bird species to another. However, experts have also said that the spread of disease is unlikely from one person to another.