12.6K birds die in Maha, 25K poultry culled

THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT HAS ISSUED AN APPEAL TO ALL CITIZENS TO NOT CONSUME RAW OR HALFCOOKED POULTRY MEAT OR EGGS

MUMBAI: Over 3,700 poultry birds were found dead in Yavatmal district of Vidarbha on Tuesday. Officials said that it is clear that the cause was bird flu, and they will have to wait for a confirmation report from Icar-national Institute of High-security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), Bhopal, a nodal body for testing bird flu cases.

On Tuesday, a total of 4,351 bird deaths were reported across the state, bringing the toll to 12,624 deaths till Tuesday evening.

ICAR-NIHSAD has also confirmed bird flu or avian influenza deaths at nine new places covering seven districts — Thane, Satara, Beed, Latur Nanded, Nagpur and Gadchiroli. State animal husbandry commissioner Sachindra Pratap Singh confirmed the development.

“Following confirmation from the central laboratory, district administrations will start culling poultry birds within one-km vicinity of the infected areas from Saturday,” the animal husbandry commissioner said.

This is in addition to over 25,000 poultry birds culled by the local administration in eight districts in the last few days after bird flu was confirmed by the ICAR-NIHSAD. Of them, over 10,000 birds each were culled at Parbhani, Latur, Nanded, Pune, Solapur, Beed, Ahmednagar and Raigad. Nearly 15,000 poultry culled in one village each in Parbhani and Latur last week.

Samples of farm birds in Rayta and Atali village near Kalyan, within Thane district, tested positive for avian influenza on Tuesday. The Thane district collector ordered a bird flu alert within a 1-km radius of these two villages and initiated a culling operation for around 1,000 birds that could be infected.

Around 220 Kosbadi fowl were found dead at a poultry farm in Girale village, Palghar this week. Additionally, six crows also died in Dahanu and Palghar since the past three days.

A team from the central government, headed by Dr Tapan Kumar Sahu, quarantine officer, Chennai, arrived in the state to monitor the activities undertaken to contain bird flu.