Fear of Bird Flu: India Starts Culling Poultry in Various States
Despite Increasing Spread of COVID-19 Virus, another Avian Flu Virus Has Also Been Detected In India
The government of the South Eastern country India has recently started culling of thousands of poultry birds, after other domestic animals like ducks, crows and wild geese have been tested positive with the diagnoses of avian flu virus across the region. The bird flu strain of H5N8 has been detected by the concerned officials in numerous flocks of birds in the past week after colonies of birds were found dead in multiple states around the country.
In India, more than 10 million individuals have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and the new active cases are increasing despite multiple preventive measures implemented by the government. 150,272 have died since the start of the coronavirus pandemic after acquiring the infection, and more than 100 individuals are dying on average across the country.
Another viral infection amid coronavirus pandemic
The federal government of India has taken action regarding the escalating spread of bird flu. It has issued a high alert across the country, asking the state local governing body to take immediate preventive measures regarding the further transmission of the virus of bird flu to limit the spread.
Although most of the diagnosed strains of bird flu virus are non-lethal towards humans if consumed, people are still strictly advised to not be in physical contact with any dead or alive but sick bird they encounter to prevent acquiring the bird flu virus.
The high alert for the bird flu has arrived while India is battling with the deadly viral coronavirus pandemic, which has wreaked havoc across the nation due to rapid transmission of infection.
While the numbers of active cases of the coronavirus infection are gradually slowing down, the government of the country is currently preparing to provide the viable vaccine for COVID-19 which has been prepared by a joint collaboration of Pfizer and BioNTech.
The Indian government has planned to provide the coronavirus antidote to hundreds of millions of people within the first quarter of the year 2021. To prevent the spread of avian flu that could result in further worsening of the situation, the states are advised to quickly curb the rate of spread of bird flu by announcing culling of all poultry along with other certain preventive measures required to be implemented.
In some districts of India, the poultry shops have been shut down along with the stopped sale of hen eggs. It has been reported that the bird flu has affected other species of aerial birds along with poultry.
In one of the northern state of India, around 2,400 migratory birds in a flock, most of which were bar-headed geese have been found dead while they were migrating from Siberia and Mongolia, and were possibly affected with the bird flu virus.
The dead birds have been found around the Pong Dam Lake, due to which an alert has been issued for the 10km radius surrounding the dam. Until now, no bird flu viral strain has been diagnosed in the poultry, as there was no poultry farm located in the nearby area.
Avian flu spread in India
In the southern Indian state of Karela, the local officials stated that more than 12,000 ducks have reportedly died, and according to the state guidelines, around 36,000 are to be culled to prevent further spread of bird flu virus.
In the city of Indore, around 50 carcasses of cows have been found, due to which the local residents of the surrounding areas are currently being tested for any symptoms of cold, cough and fever to rule out infection of avian flu. Meanwhile, in the northern Indian state of Haryana, hundreds of poultry birds have been reported to have died, but all the dead birds are yet to be tested positive for the bird flu, which has killed thousands of birds throughout the country.
According to the local official authorities, the entire state has now been put under high alert along with the formation of a control room with the sole purpose to tackle the rapidly increasing issue of further transmission of the bird flu in the surrounding area.
In the western region of Gujarat and Rajasthan, located in the northern region of India are the two states that have been put on high alert after the further spread of bird flu has been detected in some of the dead birds including crows and some other wild species.
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