The Centre has asked the states and UTs to take up surveillance and monitoring of birds for any signs of disease and take appropriate measures.
Amid bird flu scare looming large in some of the states, as many as 150 crows have been found dead in Jammu & Kashmir's Udhampur district on Thursday. The samples of the dead crows have been sent for testing.
The Chief Animal Husbandry Officer of Udhampur, Dr Inderjeet Singh that birds may have died due to a cold wave. "We got a report of dead crows, in the morning. We have collected 150 carcasses so far and will test them for the virus. But they could have died from inclement weather in the last few days in the area," Chief Animal Husbandry Officer said.
Meanwhile, the Government of Jammu & Kashmir imposed a complete ban on the import of live birds, including poultry meat, for any purpose into the Union Territory of J&K with immediate effect, till January 14, 2021, in view of the spread of bird flu in neighbouring states.
Avian influenza cases have been reported from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Kerala. The central government asked the states and UTs to take up surveillance and monitoring of birds for any signs of disease and take appropriate measures for controlling it.
According to health experts, Avian influenza refers to the disease caused by infection with avian (bird) influenza (flu) Type A viruses. These viruses occur naturally among wild aquatic birds worldwide and can infect domestic poultry and other bird and animal species.
In the wake of mortality of poultry, crows, migratory birds reported from the states of Kerala, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh, the Centre held a meeting with the states to understand the status of the outbreak of avian influenza and to suggest measures to states/UTs for control and prevent the spread of the disease.
Besides ensuring collection of representative samples and timely submission to the designated laboratories (RDDLs/CDDL/ICAR-NIHSAD), the Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India requested State Animal Husbandry departments to ensure effective communication and coordination with health authorities for close vigilance of the disease status and avoid any chances of jumping of the disease into humans.
.Effective coordination with the state forest departments was also emphasized for immediate reporting of any unusual mortalities in non-domestic birds in forest areas and around water bodies, an official release said.
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