Bird flu deaths in Maharashtra soar to 6,816; state to upgrade its lab

The number of bird flu deaths in the state is rising continuously. The toll has reached 6,816 in the past 11 days. Of these, 829 birds were found dead across the state on Monday.

The number of bird flu deaths in the state is rising continuously. The toll has reached 6,816 in the past 11 days. Of these, 829 birds were found dead across the state on Monday.

A BMC worker sanitises the area in front bird enclosures at Lokmanya Tilak BMC Market, Grant Road in Mumbai. (HT FILE PHOTO)

In addition, more than 25,000 poultry birds were culled by the local administration in eight districts after bird flu cases were confirmed by the ICAR-National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), Bhopal — a nodal body for testing bird flu cases. Of these, over 10,000 birds were culled in the past three days at Parbhani, Latur, Nanded, Pune, Solapur, Beed, Ahmednagar and Raigad districts while nearly 15,000 were culled in one village each in Parbhani and Latur to contain the spread last week.

On Sunday, 836 bird deaths were reported whereas on Saturday around 1,200 birds were found dead across the state, officials from the state animal husbandry department said.

Meanwhile, the state government has decided to upgrade the Western Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (WRDDL) in Pune, to do away with its dependency on ICAR-NIHSAD, Anoop Kumar, principal secretary of state animal husbandry department confirmed on Monday.

“We shall complete the BSL-3 (Biological Safety Level) laboratory at our own WRDDL. After this, there will be no dependence on NIHSAD laboratory. This will help in confirmation of bird flu strain in the state without any delay,” Kumar said.

WRDDL will be turned into BSL-2 and BSL-3 laboratory based on turnkey basis with an expenditure of ₹70 crore. The administrative approval for the project given on Monday, the principal secretary added.

CM Thackeray had last week directed the animal husbandry department to upgrade the state laboratory to get rid of its dependency on the central laboratory.

The state government has to get confirmation of bird flu or avian influenza from ICAR-NIHSAD to start the culling process of poultry birds.

Laboratory facilities that handle infectious agents are categorised by BSL which corresponds to the risk level of the pathogens being handled. BSL-3 laboratories are designated for indigenous or exotic agents that may cause serious or potentially lethal disease through inhalation. BSL-3 laboratory is pervasive worldwide for applications ranging from microbiological research, scientific teaching, biomedical, diagnostic and clinical, bio-security, vaccine research, to various production facilities.

The state government already empowered all district collectors for immediate implementation of a containment plan even if they suspect deaths due to bird flu. It, however, has not banned supply and sale of poultry birds in the state except in the one-km radius of the poultry farms where bird flu cases have been confirmed.