Maharashtra confirms bird flu, 800 chickens died in Murumba village

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The bird flu outbreak has been confirmed in Maharashtra killing 800 chickens in Murumba village.

The chickens had died three days ago. After which, the district administration had sent their blood samples to the National Laboratory for testing. The reports confirmed that the chickens died of avian influenza virus, said Deepak Mughlikar, District Collector of Parbhani.

Maharashtra has become the eighth state where the bird flu outbreak has been confirmed. The other seven states are Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. Test results are still awaited for samples from Delhi.

After confirmation of avian influenza-positive samples in poultry (two poultry farms) of Panchkula district of Haryana, the state government has deployed nine Rapid Response team, and containment operation is underway in both the epicentres.

Samples of crow/wild birds have been confirmed for avian influenza from Surat district of Gujarat and Sirohi district of Rajasthan.

Meanwhile, the central teams formed for monitoring the situation in the affected areas of the country are visiting the affected sites. One of the central teams reached Kerala on January 9 and is presently monitoring the epicentre sites and conducting an epidemiological investigation. Another central team reached Himachal Pradesh on January 10 and is undertaking a survey in the affected areas.

The Centre has asked states to build awareness among the public and avoid the spread of misinformation regarding avian influenza.

(With inputs from PTI)