No need to curb poultry sale as humans not hit: Min to States
With the presence of avian influenza in Delhi, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand, the Ministry of Animal Husbandry and Dairying on Monday said bird flu has been confirmed in 10 States and stressed on increased surveillance around water bodies, live bird markets, zoos and poultry farms. Meanwhile, fresh avian deaths continue to be reported in other States too.
The Centre has urged States not to close mandis or restrict sale of poultry products as there are no scientific reports of transmission of bird flu to human beings. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked all State Governments to remain alert and ensure local administration keeps a constant vigil near places like water Zbodies, zoos and poultry farms.
“Till January 11, 2021, avian influenza has been confirmed in 10 States of the country,” the Ministry said.
Seven other States — Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat — had earlier confirmed avian influenza as the cause of the recent bird deaths. After Delhi, the Himachal Pradesh has also banned the supply of all poultry products from other States for a week.
Meanwhile, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture summoned senior officials of the Ministry of Animal Husbandry on Monday to examine the availability of animal vaccines in the country.
Amid the bird flu outbreak, Union Animal Husbandry Minister Giriaj Singh on Monday urged people to not pay attention to any kind of rumours about the virus and said there was no risk to human beings if animal products were cooked properly before consuming.
He also urged States not to close mandis or restrict sales of poultry products as there are no scientific reports of transmission of bird flu to human beings.
The Minister said there have been no scientific reports on transmission of bird flu to humans and consumers should not be scared. Singh’s comments came in the wake of the affected State Governments have imposed ban to sale of processed and packaged chicken within the 10 kms radius as a precautionary measure.
“Bird flu spreads among wild birds through migratory birds. Ministry had issued advisory for all States on Oct 22, 2019. Had the advice been paid heed to, there would’ve been no need to close Ghazipur Mandi in Delhi,’ he added.
“ICAR- NIHSAD has confirmed the death of crows and migratory/wild birds in Tonk, Karauli, Bhilwara districts of Rajasthan and Valsad, Vadodara and Surat districts of Gujarat. Further, the death of crows was confirmed in Kotdwar and Dehradun districts of Uttarakhand. Crows and ducks, respectively, were reported dead in New Delhi,” the Ministry said.
The outbreak of avian influenza has been among poultry in Parbhani district while it is confirmed from Mumbai, Thane, Dapoli, Beed in crows in Maharashtra. There are reports of number of bird deaths over the past few days in Kendrewadi in Latur. Samples have been sent to check for the presence of bird flu virus and the reports are awaited.
In Haryana, culling of infected birds is underway for the control and containment of the spread of the disease.
Also, for the fourth day in a row, a large number of dead poultry birds were found dumped by the side of the Chandigarh-Shimla highway in Solan district. The remains of the birds were buried according to safety protocol and their samples sent to a disease diagnostic laboratory in Jalandhar.
Bird flu cases have been confirmed in Gujarat’s Surat and Vadodara districts as some samples of dead crows from there have tested positive for the avian influenza.
Nearly 200 birds, mostly crows, have been found dead in Uttarakhand’s Dehradun and Rishikesh.
Tuesday, 12 January 2021 | Rajesh Kumar | New Delhi
