Bird Flu: Over 4 Lakh Birds Died In Haryana In Last One Month, 6th State To Confirm Outbreak
Haryana became the sixth Indian state to confirm the outbreak of Avian flu there. Other states like Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Kerala had earlier confirmed the outbreak of bird flu there.
But the development in Haryana is concerning and has raised allegations of a cover-up of the highly contagious infection.
After the state on Friday confirmed the outbreak there, the government also revealed that a large number of bird deaths were being reported from poultry farms in Barwala and Raipur Rani for nearly a month now.
Deaths from December?
According to the government, the deaths had started taking place from the first week of December. But two samples that the state animal husbandry and dairying department had sent to Jalandhar-based Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory for examination were inconclusive.
Even when a large number of chickens were dying, the poultry farmers allegedly covered it up and blamed the deaths on the weather and age of the birds.
On Friday, Animal husbandry and dairying minister Jai Parkash Dalal said the report had confirmed the infection, adding that two out of three samples taken from poultry farms had tested positive for avian influenza.
1.6 lakh chicken to be culled
The minister also said that some over 1.6 lakhs birds within 1km radius of Kheri and Ghanauli villages will be culled to prevent the spread of the virus.
"Five samples of Siddharth Poultry Farm at Kheri village in Raipur Rani block of Panchkula tested positive for H5N8 strain of avian flu," Dalal said.
Similarly, samples of some birds from Nature Poultry Farm at Ganauli village tested positive, he said, adding that it necessitated the culling of birds at poultry farms within 1 km of both establishments.
The minister said the state government has constituted 59 teams for the drive and owners of the poultry farm will be given compensation of Rs 90 per bird. The state government has also declared the area within 1-km radius of the two poultry farms as "infected zone" and the area from 1 km to 10 km as "surveillance zone".
Immediate action was taken and clinical investigation was carried out as soon as the state government was apprised of the unusual death of birds in the poultry farms of Panchkula, said the minister.
So far, in India, bird flu has been confirmed among migratory birds, crows and poultry birds.
