Bird flu scare: Uttar Pradesh bans import of birds, poultry till January 24

The Centre on Tuesday asked Uttar Pradesh officials to take all precautions against the spread of avian influenza (bird flu) in the state, urging them to focus on regular testing.

Secretary, animal husbandry, Atul Chaturvedi, who led the meeting, also enquired about the steps taken in the state so far. “We briefed them on the measures that have been taken so far, including ban on import of live birds and poultry from other states till January 24,” state principal secretary animal husbandry, Bhuvnesh Kumar said.

He said birds’ samples were being collected and sent for regular testing to rule out the possibility of the virus. “But no sample from anywhere barring the Kanpur zoo has been found to be positive so far,” he said. He said reports of samples were coming every 48 hours.

Earlier on Sunday, the government issued a circular declaring UP as a ‘controlled area’ in view of the outbreak of bird flu in states like Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. It also put a complete ban on import of live birds to UP till January 24. “We will review the situation in the meantime and take an appropriate decision accordingly,” Kumar said.

He also made it clear that there was no ban at all on sale and consumption of eggs and meat in the state.