At least four states are reeling under bird flu scare with Kerala issuing a high alert against bird flu on Tuesday after declaring bird-flu as a state-specific disaster. Bird flu is a disease which can spread to human through generally poultry birds. The virus does not directly infect humans, normally. The Centre has issued alert to the states to monitor the health of birds in forest areas and near water bodies, officials from multiple states said.
Here is what we know about the present infection scenario in India.
Rajasthan
The first case this time was reported om Rajasthan. On December 31, curfew was imposed in around one kilometre area in Jhalawar town in Rajasthan as avian influenza was confirmed in the area. On December 25, 50 crows were found dead at a temple in Jhalawar town. By January 4, over 300 more birds were found dead across Rajasthan.
Madhya Pradesh
On January 1, bird flu virus was confirmed in around 50 crows which were found dead in the last week of December in Indore. “Bird Flu has been detected in four samples of dead crows sent to the state lab. Around 100 crows died in Mandsaur between December 23 and January 3. Medical team to conduct surveillance within 1-km of the infected area,” Dr Manish Ingole of the animal husbandry department of Mandsaur told ANI.
Kerala
{{/usCountry}}Kerala
{{/usCountry}}On January 4, two districts in Kerala, Alappuzha and Kottayam, were put on a high alert after bird flu cases have been confirmed in ducks. The bird flu was reported from four panchayats--Nedumudi, Thakazhy, Pallippad and Karuvatta--in Kuttanad region of Alappuzha district and from a duck farm in Neendoor panchayat in Kottayam district. Officials said around 40,000 domestic birds, including 34,000 in Kuttanad region alone, will be culled to check the spread of the H5N8 virus.
On January 5, the state government issues a statewide alert too.
Himachal Pradesh
On January 5, Himachal Pradesh became the fourth state to confirm bird flu. Around 1,800 migratory birds, most of them bar-headed geese, were found dead in the Pong Dam Lake sanctuary. Slaughtering, sale, purchase and export of any poultry, birds, fish of any breed and their related products, including eggs, meat, chicken, etc., has been banned in Kangra district.
According to reports, Haryana too has reported a huge number of bird carcasses at Barwala in Panchkula district. A probe is on to find out whether the birds were infected by bird flu. Jammu and Kashmir sounded an alert and started collecting samples to check the health of winged guests flocking to the Union territory during winters.
National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), Bhopal, is the nodal body for testing this disease.
According to Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the US, the H5N1 virus was first detected in 1996 in geese in China. It was first detected in humans in 1997 in Hong Kong. India is among the six countries considered to be endemic for H5N1, the other countries being Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Indonesia and Vietnam.
The disease is transmitted from birds to human via an infected bird’s feces, or secretions from its nose, mouth or eye. The last major case of bird flu in Kerala was reported in 2016 — in the districts of Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta.