A bird-flu outbreak has been confirmed in seven states. The outbreak has been confirmed in Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, while the test results are awaited for the samples collected from Delhi and Maharashtra.
The government has also directed zoo managements to submit daily reports to the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) till their area is declared free from the disease. The CZA, under the environment ministry, issued an official memorandum saying avian influenza is a scheduled disease under the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animals Act, 2009, and reporting such a disease is obligatory for taking appropriate preventive measures against its spread.
Control and containment have been completed in both the affected districts of Kerala, the government said, adding that post-operational surveillance programme guidelines have been issued to the state. Bird flu cases have so far been confirmed in 13 Madhya Pradesh districts, while around 1,100 crows and other wild birds have been found dead across 27 districts since the virus was first detected in the state last month.
Meanwhile, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has said his government is fully prepared to deal with the bird-flu situation. Officials in Uttar Pradesh have sounded a bird-flu alert, the Kanpur Zoological Park has been closed for visitors till further orders, after the samples taken from two dead birds found there tested positive for the avian influenza virus.
