Death Of 27 Migratory Birds In Himachal's Pong Triggers Concerns About Another Flu Outbreak
Concerns are being raised after over two dozen migratory birds were found dead in the Pong wetlands of Himachal Pradesh in the past few days.
According to forest officials, 14 Bar Headed Geese were found dead on Thursday, eight on Friday and five on Saturday in the Pong Wetland Wildlife Sanctuary in Kangra.
Divisional forest officer (wildlife) of Pong Dam, Rahul Rohne confirmed that the birds had died of unnatural causes and the field staff had disposed of the birds as per protocol.
According to him, the deaths have been found mostly in bar-headed geese that migrate from Mongolia (East Asia) to Pong Dam in the winter.?
"The nearby areas from the spot where the carcasses were found dead have been put under surveillance. A total of 10 teams have been formed to keep track of the situation. The forest staff with the help of the local village level governing representatives will be spreading awareness in villages surrounding the water body," Rohne said.
Pong wetland supports 415 bird species belonging to more than 60 families which fly there from across the world.
After their winter halt in Pong, the migratory birds had recently started returning to their homes, a process that lasts till April.
The development comes nearly a month after Himachal Pradesh and several other states across India reported the outbreak of the H5N1 virus.
According to the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, till January 30 outbreaks of avian influenza have been confirmed in 10 States/UTs- Kerala, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir for poultry birds.
13 States/UTs including Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and Bihar reported avian influenza among crow/migratory/wild birds.
Earlier this month, a bird flu outbreak was confirmed at a poultry farm in the Sola area of Gujarat's Ahmedabad.
Avian influenza?refers to the disease caused by infection with?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.?
Some strains of bird flu can be particularly dangerous and according to the WHO, the?human mortality rate?can be as high as 60 percent.
