Avian flu: 3 migratory bird species affected

NEW DELHI: A panel formed by the Union environment ministry to monitor the avian influenza outbreak has asked chief state wildlife wardens to coordinate on a daily basis with state governments and the Centre as it seeks to rein in the deaths of migratory birds, of special concern for green activists, and domestic poultry by bird flu.

Bird flu has infected migratory birds such as the Barheaded goose, black- headed gulls and the Eurasian Teal arriving in Indian wintering sites, as well as poultry birds and the common crow among the domestic species since the outbreak spread to India at the end of December, killing thousands of birds.

The environment ministry had constituted a committee consisting of the inspectors general and deputy inspectors general of forests and wildlife and a project scientist to monitor how the states are handling the outbreak.

The committee held a meeting with all state chief wildlife wardens on Tuesday to take stock of the situation. So far, 10 states have reported cases of bird flu.

“The wildlife wardens have also been asked to ensure states are complying with the advisory issued to them and that any bird deaths or suspicious cases are handled with utmost caution and they are reported to us,” said Soumitra Dasgupta, additional director general ( wildlife). “As of now cases have been reported from protected and forest areas of Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Gujarat. Rest of the states have reported avian flu mostly among poultry,” he added.

“We cannot say with certainty whether other important species have been affected...much more study is needed to understand the extent of spread among species and areas which have been affected,” said ornithologist Bikram Grewal.

Most migratory waterfowl species are known to be carriers of the H5N1 virus responsible for the current outbreak, said Bivash Pandav, director of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) who has specialised in research of water birds.

“The virus normally doesn’t jump over to humans but can be easily transmitted from migratory species to domestic birds and has great potential to completely damage our poultry—birds and even pigs,” Pandav said..