Bird flu in poultry birds confirmed in few more places in Maharashtra

The Centre on Sunday said bird flu in poultry birds has been confirmed from two places in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra while in a crow sample in Delhi.

Compensation is paid to those poultry farmers whose poultry birds, eggs and poultry feed are culled and disposed of, the government said.

The central government provides compensation to states on a 50:50 sharing basis under the Livestock Health and Disease Control scheme, it added.

So far, bird flu or avian influenza outbreak has been confirmed in poultry birds in nine states -- Kerala, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

Whereas in crow and wild/migratory birds, the disease has been confirmed in 12 states. In a statement, the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying said that the control and containment operations (cleaning and disinfection) are going on in the rest of the affected epicentres of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Uttarakhand.

The disease has been confirmed in poultry samples from Sawargad and Ujona Darwah of Yavatmal district of Maharashtra. Further, the disease has been confirmed in a crow sample from Jamia Hamdard University in Delhi, it said.

However, pigeon and rose finch samples submitted from Tehri and Paukhal Forest Range of Uttarakhand have been found negative for the disease.

According to the ministry, the post operation surveillance plan has been issued for one epicentre for Kerala, three epicentres for Madhya Pradesh and five epicentres for Maharashtra.

The compensation is paid to farmers whose poultry birds, eggs and poultry feed are culled/disposed of by the state as per the action plan.

The government is taking continuous efforts to generate awareness about bird flu through various platforms including social media like Twitter, Facebook handles. In India, bird flu is spread mainly by migratory birds coming into the country during winters - between September and March.