'Only samples from Sanjay Lakes tested positive': Manish Sisodia on bird flu in Delhi

The Delhi deputy chief minister also asked people not to panic. The Delhi government has sanitised the Sanjay Lake area. The government has also closed down Ghazipur poultry market and banned entry of livestock from outside Delhi, said Sisodia.

Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said on Monday that samples of ducks from Sanjay Lake area are the only ones in the national capital that have tested positive for bird flu so far. He also asked people not to panic.

File photo of Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. (PTI)

"Only samples of duck from Sanjay Lake have tested positive for bird flu. There is no cause for concern. Reports of other samples are awaited," Sisodia said at a press briefing.

"The Delhi government is making all efforts to check the spread of bird flu and monitoring the situation. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is constantly in touch with officials. There is no need to panic as bird flu does not spread from one person to another," Sisodia added.

The Delhi government on Monday confirmed bird flu cases after samples sent to a Bhopal-based laboratory tested positive for avian influenza.

The Delhi government had sent eight samples - four from a park in Mayur Vihar Phase 3, three from Sanjay Lake and one from Dwarka - to the laboratory.

A drive to cull ducks has begun at Sanjay Lake, where several ducks were found dead in the last few days, said Dr Rakesh Singh from the animal husbandry unit of the Development Department.

Seventeen more ducks were found dead at Sanjay Lake on Sunday, prompting authorities to declare it an "alert zone", DDA officials said.

Three other recreational parks in Delhi - Hauz Khas Park, Dwarka Sector 9 Park, Hastsal Park - were closed on Saturday.