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Bird Flu: 43,622 birds found dead so far in Maharashtra

The animal husbandry department of the state is busy tackling the outbreak. According to the officials, the avian flu could be brought under control once the migratory birds go away by February-end.

Bird Flu: 43,622 birds found dead so far in Maharashtra
SHARES

A total of 43,622 birds have been found dead in Maharashtra so far. These include 41,659 poultry birds, 1,099 crows and 864 other birds. The cause of death has been attributed to ongoing avian flu in the state. The State Animal Husbandry Commissioner Sachindra Singh shared these numbers and also stated that current spell of bird flu in Maharashtra is much wide-spread than the one that hit the state in 2006.

The animal husbandry department of the state is busy tackling the outbreak. According to the officials, the avian flu could be brought under control once the migratory birds go away by February-end.

The state government have culled 6.12 lakh poultry birds, destroyed 1.92 lakh eggs so far, and most of them were from Nawapur and Nandurbar. In Nawapur alone, five lakh birds were culled. Most of the birds culled were not infected, but they were killed because they were in one-km radius of the infected zone.

The government has paid compensation of INR 45.40 lakh to the poultry farmers in the infected zones where the culling of poultry birds, disposal of eggs and poultry feed have been carried out for containment of Bird Flu.

Moreover, the state government has also released a compensation of INR 3 crores for the poultry industry. Under the Control and Containment of the Infectious Diseases Act, district collectors have been empowered to take steps so that timely action is initiated.

Samples of a dead peacock, pigeon, pond herons, kingfisher, owl, crow and hummingbird have been received by the Western Region Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Pune.

The samples of a peacock, pond herons, owl, and crow have been found affected by bird flu in the sample examination. There has been no report of human transmission of bird flu in India, till date.

Meanwhile, instructions have already been issued to the regional joint commissioners of the animal husbandry department for carrying out extensive sero-surveillance at the sites visited by migratory birds.

The wildlife division of the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change has issued instructions for taking necessary steps to control bird deaths.

The first outbreak of bird flu occurred in India on February 18, 2006, at Navapur in Nandurbar district of Maharashtra.

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