Bird flu confirmed in 9 states: Samples from Delhi, Maharasthra test positive for avian flu

New Delhi, Jan 12: Bird flu has now been confirmed in Delhi and Maharashtra after samples tested positive for avian flu.

Testing of eight samples sent to a Bhopal-based laboratory has confirmed bird flu in Delhi, officials said on Monday. All eight samples -- four from a park in Mayur Vihar Phase 3, three from Sanjay Lake and one from Dwarka -- have been found positive for avian influenza, Dr Rakesh Singh from the animal husbandry unit of the Development Department said.

In Maharashtra's Parbhani district, as many as 900 hens have died at a poultry farm in Murumba village, a senior official said on Saturday.

In 2006, H5N1 virus outbreak was reported in Nandurbar and Dhule districts in north Maharashtra, which had affected thousands of birds.

The district administration has now decided to cull nearly 8,000 birds in Murumba village where these hens died, Collector Deepak Muglikar told PTI.

The bird flu outbreak has already been confirmed in Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.

The central government on Sunday said it has 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 office 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.

Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture has called a meeting today on evidence of representatives of Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandary & Dairying in connection with examination of the subject 'Status of Veterinary Services and Availability of Animal Vaccine in the Country'.