5,151 BIRDS SUCCUMB TO FLU IN MAHA

982 deaths on Friday, 14,535 poultry birds culled

The bird flu has claimed 982 more birds in Maharashtra till 9 pm on January 15 taking the total toll to 5151 since January 8. These deaths were reported in 22 of the total 36 districts in the state. In all 14,535 poultry birds comprising 3443 birds at Murumba in Parbhani district, 11,064 at Kendrewadi in Ahmadpur tehsil and 28 at Sukni in Udgir tehsil were culled on Friday.

Of the 982 deaths, Thane reported 53, Raigad (4), Satara (9), Sangli (20), Ahmednagar (151), Beed (25), Latur (253), Osmanabad (7), Amravati (90), Yavatmal (205), Nagpur (45), Wardha (109), Chandrapur (4), Gondia (23) and Gadchiroli (3). According to the department of animal husbandry, the samples are being sent for testing to the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal and Disease Investigation Section, Pune.

The areas in Parbhani, Latur, Solapur, Pune, Beed, Ahmednagar and Raigad districts where bird flu was detected in hens have been declared “infected zone”. Thereafter, the birds were culled within the radius of 1 km. However, the samples of poultry birds from Amravati and Akola were negative.

In exercise of the powers conferred under Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animal Act, 2009, the state government for the prevention, control and eradication of Avian Influenza, has conferred all its powers on all the district collectors within their local jurisdiction. The process of declaration of “Alert Zone’’ in the area of mortality in poultry birds, suspected to be died of bird flu and ensuring necessary precautions and preventive measures are undertaken under these conferred powers by local administration.

The department has urged the poultry farm owners and general public to immediately intimate mortality in the crows, parrots, herons or in migratory birds in any village or of any unusual death of poultry birds in commercial farms and backyard poultry to the nearest veterinary dispensary. The intimation should also be given on the Toll free no 18002330418.