New health worries for Delhi: bird flu warning
Outbreak feared after H5N1 virus confirmed in dead migratory birds
NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday put poultry farms, wholesale markets and avian hot spots under watch after the death of 10 migratory birds at the capital’s zoo sparked fears of what could be the first bird flu outbreak in Delhi.
The Delhi zoo has been closed for three days as a precautionary measure, Delhi development minister Gopal Rai said.
There was a possibility of the virus infecting humans if they consume or handle contaminated chicken, he said.
Though there are no known cases of human deaths from avian influenza in India, lakhs of poultry and other birds have been culled across several states over the years to contain the highly-contagious disease.
Worldwide, 60% of the humans infected by the H5N1 virus die, according to available data.
The World Health Organisation says the virus can cause fever, cough, sore throat, pneumonia, respiratory disease and, in severe cases, death in humans.
Experts said Delhi’s large pigeon population could potentially turn to carriers and spread the virus across the capital, a packed city-state with an estimated 1.86 crore people.
“We have decided to check entire Delhi. We have asked the department to check possible places where birds are likely to come. We have sent a team to the Okhla sanctuary and Nizamuddin, where birds are sold, Yamuna Diversity Park in Wazirpur, Najafgarh drain and Ghazipur apart from deploying a 10-member team at the zoo,” said Rai. The Ghazipur wholesale market is the source of poultry meant for consumption in Delhi.