Six states confirm bird flu, Centre calls for awareness on safety of poultry products

New Delhi [India], January 8 (ANI): As bird flu or avian influenza outbreak has spread to six states in the country, the Centre has requested states and Union Territories (UTs) to increase awareness regarding the safety of poultry or poultry products. It has also issued appropriate advisories to restore consumer confidence affected by rumors is put to rest.
These six include Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Gujarat.
"Awareness among poultry farmers and the general public (consumers of eggs and chicken) about the disease is of foremost importance. Communication from Secretary (AHD) has been sent to Health Ministry to restore consumer confidence in consumption of chicken and eggs," the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying said.
"Appropriate advisories have been requested to be issued from the Health Ministry in this regard so that consumer confidence affected by rumors is put to rest. Also, states have been requested to increase awareness regarding the safety of poultry or poultry products that were safe for consumption following boiling/cooking procedures for which central support would be available," it added.
Besides this, the states that are still unaffected by avian influenza have been requested to keep a vigil on any unusual mortality amongst birds and to report immediately so that necessary measures are taken in the fastest possible time.
Central teams have been deployed to visit the affected states of Kerala, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh for monitoring and for epidemiological investigation.
Unusual mortality of 16 birds has been reported in DDA park Hastsal Village, Delhi, while the AH Department has reportedly taken precautionary measures and sent samples to ICAR-NIHSAD and test report is awaited.
Lucknow Zoological Garden authorities have increased the bird monitoring after Kanpur Zoological Park confirmed the death of four birds. The cause of death of birds at Kanpur Zoological Park is not yet clear. Their samples have been sent to the Animal Disease Laboratory of Bhopal under high security, officials said.
Kanpur Zoological Park authorities on Friday increased the monitoring as four birds were found dead in the premises on January 6. The Zoo authorities have become vigilant to avoid any kind of unwarranted cases.
The authorities are on high alert at Okhla Bird Sanctuary, Dhanuri wetland and Surajpur wetland in the national capital and have given precautionary warnings and protocols to the staff members.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Government has declared the whole state as a 'Controlled Area' in view of the outbreak of bird flu affecting birds including poultry in the neighbouring states.
In another major decision, Punjab imposes a complete ban on the import of live birds including Poultry and unprocessed Poultry meat for any purpose into the state of Punjab with immediate effect till January 15, 2021. The decision will be reviewed based on the evolving situation.
104 samples sent to Ludhiana after birds were found dead at three locations in Delhi - Mayur Vihar, Dwarka and Hastsal. Five more samples will be sent to Bhopal tomorrow. Animal Husbandry Department has not confirmed any instance of bird flu so far. (ANI)