Outbreaks of the H5N8 strain have been reported in Russia, Europe, China, the Middle East and North Africa in recent months but only in poultry.
So far 7,12,172 poultry birds (including 5,78,360 birds from Navapur of Nandurbar district), 26,03,728 eggs and 72,974 kg of poultry feed have been destroyed from the infected zone, according to the government.
In the light of the bird flu outbreak, seven serological samples of droppings of birds and environments collected by Delhi's Animal Husbandry Department from four different points of the Zoo was sent to NIHSAD in Bhopal, have tested positive for the bird flu.
Bird flu confirmed in a village near Dhandal panchayat in JandK's Udhampur. The samples of few birds including peacock tested positive for Avian Influenza.
In Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur, the outbreak of the avian influenza has been confirmed in a domestic fowl. Besides, Himachal's Hamirpur district confirmed the bird flu in crows and in Bihar's West Champaran district the disease was found in a peacock
The samples of these birds, which were found dead on Friday, have been sent for testing to check if they died due to avian flu, they said.
The samples were then sent to the Bhopal-based Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases testing after the NRDDL found it to be a suspected case of bird flu, the officials said.
Around 15 crows were found dead in the premises of Red Fort on January 10. A sample from a dead bird was sent to a Jalandhar-based laboratory for testing, Rakesh Singh, the director of the Delhi government's animal husbandry department, said.
The samples from Mumbai, Ghodbander (Thane district) and Dapoli for crows and herons and samples of poultry farm from Muramba have been found positive for (H5N1 strain) and samples of crows from Beed district have been found positive for H5N8 strain.
The ministry said that the ban has adversely affected poultry and egg markets and thereby poultry and maize farmers, who are already affected by the COVID 19 pandemic lockdown.
A dead owl in the Delhi zoo has been found to have been infected with bird flu, officials said on Saturday. "The zoo witnessed the death of a brown fish owl in its captivity.Its cloacal, tracheal and ocular swabs were sent to the animal husbandry unit of the Delhi government for serological examination," zoo Director Ramesh Pandey said.
The Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi has announced to relieve teachers from field duties to check illegal transportation of poultry into the national capital in view of the avian influenza (bird flu).
Mumbai's civic body, the BMC issued a set of guidelines in light of samples of two crows from Mumbai testing positive for bird flu. The BMC has asked citizens to be vigilant and report any bird deaths by contacting its helpline at 1916.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday allowed the poultry markets in Delhi to reopen after samples of birds sent for the diagnosis of the bird flu returned negative.
The results come three days after samples taken from crows and ducks in the national capital tested positive for avian influenza. This had led to the Delhi government on Monday banning the sale of processed and packaged chicken brought from outside the city.
The North Delhi Municipal Corporation on Wednesday imposed a ban on sale and storage of poultry or processed chicken meat by shops and restaurants with immediate effect, in view of the bird flu situation in the national capital, according to an official order.
The Delhi Health Department on Wednesday issued an advisory in view of bird flu cases in the city, asking people not to panic and follow a set of dos and don'ts, including not consuming half-cooked chicken, half-boiled or half-fried eggs.
As per health experts, exposure to pigeon feathers and faeces can increase the risk of respiratory issues like candidiasis, salmonellosis and histoplasmosis.
Since last Wednesday, when reports of deaths of birds from the disease started coming in, farmgate prices of broiler chicken have crashed from around Rs 82 to Rs 58 per kg in Maharashtra.
With the confirmation of bird flu in Uttarakhand a high alert has been sounded across the state, State Animal Husbandry Minister Rekha Arya said.
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