The Jharkhand government has sounded an alert after bird flu cases were reported at a veterinary college-based poultry farm in Ranchi. The Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying has asked the state to take all measures to contain its spread. Around 150 Guinea fowls died over the past 20 days at the farm. The presence of H5N1, a type of avian influenza A virus, was confirmed in samples sent to the ICAR-National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) in Bhopal.
A bird flu outbreak caused by the H5N1 strain has been reported in Bokaro, Jharkhand, leading to the death of around 250 birds at a government poultry farm. The outbreak was confirmed on March 7, prompting authorities to cull 46 birds and destroy 506 eggs at the farm. A 1-km radius has been declared an affected zone, where birds will be culled, and a 10-km radius has been designated as a surveillance zone, prohibiting the sale and purchase of poultry. This outbreak comes roughly a month after a similar incident in Ranchi, where 5,500 birds were culled.
A nine-year-old lioness Neela and a male lion named Pathbanathan, aged 12 years, succumbed to COVID-19 earlier this month.
Besides Uttar Pradesh, the other six states where bird flu is confirmed are Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat.
Delhi, Uttarakhand and Maharashtra on Monday confirmed bird flu cases, adding to the list of seven states -- Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh -- which had already reported avian deaths due to the disease.
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