Bird flu, a highly contagious viral disease caused by “influenza type A” virus which generally affects poultry birds such as chicken and turkey. There are different types of strains causing bird flu some are mild and some are severely affecting one which may lead to death of the bird.

Forest department officials said- “the source of bird flu was migratory birds which probably came from Commonwealth of Independent States(CIS) countries and have spread to native species”.

Around one lakh poultry birds are found dead due to it’s outbreak in Haryana. Meanwhile cases are being reported among wild geese in Himachal Pradesh, crows in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and ducks in Kerala. Around 3,400 migratory birds are found dead in Himachal Pradesh’s Pong Dam lake by the spread of H5N1 strain. The officials said that till now there’s no report of virus infecting humans there. Kangra district is under strict restrictions in the four subdivisions adjoining the wetland. Kangra’s Deputy Commissioner told that  in interest of protecting the health and safety of public at large, sale, purchase and expert of poultry, birds and fish is prohibited in Fatehpur, Dehra, Kawali and Indora subdivisions. “No movement of humans shall be allowed within a kilometer of Pong Dam or the alert zone except those related to managing the outbreak”, Prajapati said. He added that all agriculture or horticulture related activities are prohibited and staff are assigned to keep check on such activities.

Bird flu alert in Rajasthan has come up where 625 crows were found dead in around 16 of 33 districts which includes Kota and Baran districts too. Rajasthan animal husbandry minister said, ”The virus has not affected chicken or eggs but all precautions are taken, looking at the way it spreads among crows. But positive news is there that samples from Jodhpur have tested negative. Those from Jhalawar, Kota and Baran have tested positive ”. He added that the affected areas will be sanitized properly as it was done in the times of Covid-19. In Jhalawar and Pali district the infected area, prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) is imposed. The government is also taking account of sealing the Madhya Pradesh border for poultry transportation.

The bird flu virus H5N8 has spread to 10 district (Indore, Mandsaur, Agar-Malwa, Khargone, Neemuch, Dewas, Ujjain, Shajapur, all in Malwa region; Sehore in central region and Guna in Gwalior- Chambal region) of Madhya Pradesh where about 500 crows have died since December 23. The director of the animal husbandry department said,” There is no sign of other birds including poultry having been infected by any sort of virus”. He even said that bird flu in poultry is H1N5. Dr. Shailesh Sakalle said a household survey is being done in the affected areas.

In Kerala about 20,000 ducks have died in the past one week. Animal husbandry department additional secretary Dr. Hari Kumar said 38,000 birds will be culled in Alappuzha and 8,000 in Kottayam. Poultry farmers are restricted for trading birds till further notice. He said that culling and burying birds will take at least three days. Poultry farmers are in stress and in need of at least minimal  compensation from the government.

States such as Uttarakhand, Bihar, Haryana, Jharkhand Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra have issued advisories and have asked forest department officials to monitor the health of birds in and around water bodies. 

Central government too is in act of precaution, it has issued an alert and advisory for all forest officers to keep an eye on any unusual avian activities.

Dr. AK Kataria told that the virus strain H5N8 is not fatal for humans, only H5N1 is known, which can cause pneumonia. The strains which are considered to be highly affected are N1, N2, N5, N6 and N9. He even said that, ”The situation can be dealt with by opting required precautions such as burying dead birds three feet down and away from water sources”.

Unlike in birds, where it generally infects the gut, the avian influenza attacks the respiratory tract of humans and may cause severe respiratory illnesses such as pneumonia or Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). Its early symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, and sometimes abdominal pain and diarrhoea. To prevent oneself from its effect we are advised to have no interaction with birds till this virus is sustaining into them.

A report by Sneha