9 states confirm outbreak of bird flu in poultry birds

New Delhi: The centre, on Wednesday, confirmed outbreak of bird flu in poultry across 9 states - Kerala, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

Fresh cases in poultry birds were reported in 7 districts in Maharashtra and one each in Gujarat and Chhattisgarh. However, the spread has been contained to 9 states only with no new state reporting cases in poultry birds.

“Control and containment operations which included cleaning and disinfection are underway in the affected epicentres of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat,” said a senior official of union ministry of animal husbandry and dairying.


He said that the government is distributing compensation to farmers whose poultry birds, eggs and poultry feed are being disposed.

“The central government provides funds to states and union territories on equal sharing basis The Maharashtra government has sanctioned a compensation package of Rs.1.3 crore for culling of poultry and other birds, eggs and poultry feed within 1 km radius of the infected area,” the official said.

The official said that the consumption of poultry products, however, is safe if cooked at more than 70 degree for half an hour.

Apart from bird flu cases in poultry, as many as 12 states have reported confirmed cases in crow, migratory and other wild birds. These include

Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, UP, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.

“Fresh cases have been confirmed in crows in Rudraprayag in Uttrakhand, Junagarh in Gujarat and in peacock in Beed in Maharashtra,” he said.