Migratory bird deaths – 2,300 as of Monday – in the Pong Dam reservoir area in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh It was due to avian influenza, Dharamshala Chief Forest Conservator Upasana Patiyal confirmed Monday.
As a precautionary measure, the state government has banned the sale, purchase and slaughter of poultry in the Fatehpur, Dehra, Jawali and Indora subdivisions of the Kangra district. The export of poultry and fish products has also stopped. Staff from the animal husbandry department have been ordered to set up rapid response teams to deal with the spread of the disease.
Kerala’s minister of forests, wildlife and animal husbandry, K Raju, said that bird flu was reported in Kottayam and Alappuzha and that 12,000 ducks died from the disease.
Authorities have been instructed to euthanize all birds within a one-kilometer radius of the reported areas. This would include all types of poultry and ornamental birds. Raju said 36,000 birds will need to be culled to prevent further spread of the disease.
This is the third outbreak of bird flu in Alappuzha in the last seven years. “According to the estimate of the department of animal husbandry, 34,602 birds (mainly ducks) need to be slaughtered in Kuttanad and will be completed in three days. This includes 5,975 birds in Nedumudi, 11,250 birds in Thakazhi, 4,627 birds in Pallippad and 12,750 birds in Karuvatta “Collector A Alexander said.
Furthermore, the National Institute for High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal has confirmed that the death of crows in Jhalawar in Rajasthan it was due to bird flu. The toll, mostly crows, hit 522 on Monday. Animal husbandry director Virendra Singh said: “The highest number of crow deaths, 36, was recorded in Jaipur. As of January 4, 391 crows have died across the state.”
Apart from the state capital, two new cases were reported in Jhalawar, where crow deaths were witnessed for the first time. Deaths were reported in Kota (12), Baran (12), and Bikaner (11). In Dausa district, six deaths were recorded: two crows and four herons. Additionally, a heron and four crows were reported to have died in Jodhpur. “Migratory birds are suspected of being the source of this virus,” said a senior animal husbandry official.
A senior health department official told TOI: “Bird flu can be transmitted from birds to humans. We have directed our officials to closely monitor poultry farms and other areas where birds live.”
Fears of bird flu after the death of 53 birds in Bantva in Gujarat’s Junagadh, most of them lapwing, were allayed by forest department officials who said autopsies revealed that the birds may have died from poisoning.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh also issued an alert for an outbreak of H5N8 avian influenza, which has killed 160 crows and at least two herons in Indore in the last week.
Animal husbandry department officials in each district have been asked to be vigilant and follow standard operating procedures to check for the spread of the virus. So far, there is no evidence of transmission to poultry.
In the wake of bird deaths in Himachal, Punjab’s animal husbandry department Pathankot The district has begun taking preventative measures to prevent the spread of any possible infection among poultry from migratory birds.
Deputy Director (Animal Husbandry) Pathankot Ramesh Kohli said department staff have started collecting bird droppings and water samples from poultry farms that would be sent to the Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Jalandhar, to rule out any infection. . There are more than 60 major poultry farms with a bird population of more than 50 to 60 lakhs in the Narot Jaimal Singh, Dhar, Pathankot and Sujanpur blocks of Pathankot, he added.
The mystery surrounds the death of chickens as the cause remains inconclusive. In the past week, 20 Barwala-based poultry farms have faced the death of 1.5 lakh of birds. Samples collected by the dairy and animal husbandry department were sent for forensic examination to RDDL and the report is awaited, said Deputy Director Anil Banwala.
“From now on, we hope that no such deadly disease is the cause. If there had been any disease, the birds would have died within hours, but here the birds have been dying since last week,” Banwala said.
Poultry farm owners have claimed that the birds have died due to the drop in temperature and this is an annual matter when the temperature drops below 5ºC.
Jharkhand also sounded an alert in all 24 districts, asking officials to keep a close watch and make arrangements to address any situation that may arise.
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