Photos: States sound alarm after cases of bird flu reported

Wildlife officials collecting carcasses of birds that died due to bird flu (H5N1) in the Pong Dam wetland in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. At least five states in India have reported bird deaths due to the avian flu in the past one week, following which the Centre has issued an advisory asking all states to test droppings of migratory and poultry birds to prevent the spread. (HT Photo)

A forest department official holds a sick crow near Jal Mahal in Jaipur on January 5. Bird flu is a highly contagious viral disease caused by Influenza type A viruses. Birds are normally the carriers of the virus, and take it to long distances, thereby affecting large avian populations across continents, HT reported. (PTI)

Farmers guide ducks towards a cage for their culling, following the detection of Avian Influenza (H5N8), in Alappuzha on January 5. Wild aquatic birds such as ducks and geese are the natural reservoir of Influenza A viruses and the central players in the ecology of these viruses. (PTI)

Experts collect samples for the detection of bird flu at Gharana wetland on the outskirts of Jammu on January 5. Bhopal-based National Institute of High Security Animal Disease (NIHSAD), the lab accredited to confirm bird flu, has detected two strains of influenza viruses until now - H5N8 and H5N1. (PTI)

A forest department official picks a sick crow from a roadside near Jal Mahal in Jaipur on January 5. H5N8, a sub-type of avian influenza found in poultry and wild animals, has been found in crows in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. H5N1 is found in ducks in Kerala and migratory birds in Himachal, HT reported. (PTI)

Women gathering dead ducks in Alappuzha on January 5. Human cases of H5N1 are rare but if infected, the mortality rate is about 60% according to the World Health Organization. (PTI)

Health workers in protective suits cull ducks after the H5N8 bird flu strain was detected in Karuvatta of Alapuzha district on January 6. NIHSAD has so far identified 12 epicentres of the outbreak in Rajasthan (Baran, Kota, Jhalawar), Madhya Pradesh (Mandsaur, Indore, Malwa), Himachal Pradesh (Kangra) and Kerala (Kottayam, Alappuzha). (Arunchandra Bose / AFP)

Wildlife officials collect carcass of birds from Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh on January 6. In addition, bird deaths have also been reported from Haryana and Uttarakhand. Himachal’s Kangra district magistrate banned sale or culling of poultry in the alert zone and closed all poultry or fish selling shops. (Ravi Kumar / HT Photo)

An Animal Husbandry Department worker culls ducks in Alappuzha on January 5. In Kerala’s Kottayam and Alappuzha districts close to 38,000 ducks have been culled. The Central government records show nearly ₹400 crore have been paid to poultry farmers till 2016 as compensation for mass killing of birds, HT reported. (PTI)