190 pigeons found dead in Narol district, Ahmedabad

190 pigeons found dead in Ahmedabad city; carcass sent for testing-bird flu suspected

In yet another suspected case of bird flu, around 190 pigeons were found dead in Gujarat's Ahmedabad city over a period of two days, said officials on Thursday.

**HANDOUT PHOTO MADE AVAILABLE FROM Alappuzha PRD ON THURSDAY, JAN. 7, 2021**Alappuzha: A team of health experts, from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, led by Dr Ruchi Jain visit a bird flu affected area at Karuvatta in Alappuzha district, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. (PTI Photo)(PTI01_07_2021_000194B) (PTI)

To ascertain the exact cause of death of the pigeons in the Narol area, the carcass samples were sent to a Bhopal laboratory for testing for avian influenza, said Dr Rajendra Patel, Assistant Director, animal husbandry department, Ahmedabad district.

"We have sent two samples to a Bhopal-based laboratory for confirmation (of bird flu)," said Patel.

"Around 190 pigeons were found dead in the Narol area of the city during the last two days in a suspected case of bird flu. We have discarded the carcasses as per protocols and sanitised the area.

Bird flu cases were first reported in Gujarat on January 8 when samples of some dead birds, found near a dam in Junagadh district, later tested positive for avian influenza. Later, bird flu cases were also reported from Surat, Vadodara and Valsad districts, where samples of dead crows returned positive tests for the virus.

Bird flu is a highly infectious and severe respiratory disease in birds caused by the influenza virus.