No evidence of bird flu in Gurugram yet, officials on high alert

Nearly 80 blood samples from poultry farms across the district tested negative for any strains of avian influenza or its antibodies, officials in the animal husbandry

Nearly 80 blood samples from poultry farms across the district tested negative for any strains of avian influenza or its antibodies, officials in the animal husbandry department said. However, they also said that an outbreak of bird flu cannot be ruled out given an unusually high number of poultry deaths recently reported from Panchkula district’s Barwala tehsil.

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The samples were tested this week at a lab in Sonepat, as part of routine zoonotic serosurveillance.

A district-level meeting of veterinarians and poultry farmers has been convened in Gurugram on Thursday to review existing protocols for controlling the spread of bird flu. Guidelines for the same were first drawn up in 2005, and then implemented and revised during bird flu outbreaks in 2006, 2012 and 2015.

There are presently 48 veterinarians enrolled with the animal husbandry department in the district, who regularly visit poultry farms to inspect chicken and take samples for routine surveillance.

An official with the district animal husbandry department, who requested anonymity, as they are not authorised to spread to the media, said, “There is no reason to believe that poultry in Gurugram has been affected by either strain of the influenza virus, H1N5 or H5N8, confirmed be to be circulating in India. We have directly reached out to at least 100 poultry farms in the district and as of today (Wednesday), none are reporting any unusual activity. Visits will be made by vets to check on the health of the birds. They will also be on the lookout to see if the farm owners are hiding any deaths from authorities.”

Dr Punita Gahlot, deputy director, animal husbandry, Gururgam, declined comment. However, when asked whether it was safe to continue consumption of poultry, Gahlot responded, “No directions have been issued by the government yet to stop eating chicken.”

The district wildlife department, too, has been conducting daily visits to Sultanpur national park, Basai, Najafgarh and Tau Devi Lal biodiversity park to check for excess deaths among migratory and local birds. “We found two pigeon carcasses in Tau Devi Lal Park today, but that’s quite common. We will be making daily trips to these places for the next few days. If we retrieve any bird carcasses, we will hand them over to the animal husbandry department, who will dispatch it to a lab in Jalandhar for testing,” said Rajesh Chahal, district wildlife inspector.

After recent reports that nearly 400,000 poultry chicken died under suspicious circumstances in Panchkula, the state animal husbandry department has sounded the alarm across all districts to ramp up surveillance. Four states — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Himachal Pradesh — have already confirmed outbreaks of at least one of two influenza strains (H1N5 and H5N8) which cause bird flu.

However, despite this spate of poultry deaths which began in mid-December, Haryana has not yet detected a single lab confirmed case of avian influenza. “We will only know more in a few days if deaths start increasing on poultry farms in places other than Barwala,” said a senior official in the state department of animal husbandry, seeking anonymity.

The official added that the cause of poultry deaths in Barwala has not yet been determined, saying, “We just don’t know yet. The report from the Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (RDDL) in Jalandhar is awaited.”

Dr Sukhdev Rathee, deputy director, department of animal husbandry, shared the same view. “There is no evidence of either influenza strain being present in Haryana, but we need to be careful. As far as poultry is concerned, we cannot say for sure that the deaths in Barwala were due to bird flu. We have send additional samples to Jalandhar yesterday after the first inquiry came up inconclusive. The report will come in another two days. Till then we are monitoring for any spike in deaths on poultry farms,” he said.

ML Rajvanshi, principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife), Haryana, said that all sensitive wetlands and bird habitats are being put on surveillance for the time being. “I have personally visited Bhindawas in Jhajjar two days ago. There is nothing untoward to report. But since there is evidence of a bird flu outbreak in nearby states, we will have to be very vigilant. Migratory bird populations will be monitored closely.”