Parliamentary Agriculture Committee to meet as bird flu outbreak confirmed in 9 states

As nine states across India have confirmed cases of bird flu amid concerns over the spread of the disease, the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture will meet on Monday on evidence of representatives of Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandary & Dairying in connection with the examination of the subject 'Status of Veterinary Services and Availability of Animal Vaccine in the Country'. The meeting will be held at 3 pm, sources informed Republic Media Network.

Bird flu hits Delhi and Maharashtra

Maharashtra and Delhi are the latest states to confirm bird flu cases. According to Maharashtra government officials, 800 chickens found have been found dead at Murumba village in Parbhani district. In order to assess the situation arising out of the bird flu outbreak, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday will chair a meeting to review the bird flu situation in Maharashtra, officials said.

"Three days ago, 800 chickens in Murumba village died due to bird flu. The administration had sent blood samples of dead chickens to National Laboratory. Reports confirm that the chickens died of bird flu," the District Collector of Parbhani area said.

The Animal Husbandry Department of Delhi government on Monday confirmed cases of bird flu in the national capital. "Eight samples from dead crows and ducks were sent for testing. All the samples tested positive for avian flu," said the Animal Husbandry Department. As many as 91 crows and 27 ducks were found dead across 15 Delhi Development Authority (DDA) parks in Delhi on Sunday. According to an official release, Green Area Sanjay Lake at Trilokpuri Phase-I, II and III was declared as 'Alert Zone'.

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Centre directs zoos to submit daily report to CZA

The bird flu outbreak has already been confirmed in Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. The central government on Sunday said it has directed zoo managements to submit daily reports to the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) till their area is declared free from the disease.

The CZA, under the Environment Ministry, issued an office memorandum saying avian influenza is a scheduled disease under the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animals Act, 2009, and reporting such a disease is obligatory for taking appropriate preventive measures against its spread. The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying on Sunday said that the central teams formed for monitoring the spread of bird flu are visiting the affected sites in several states across the country.

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(With agency inputs)