Yadav, who held a meeting with officials on the preventive measures to be taken with regard to bird flu, said Central government officials have announced having found bird flu only in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Himachal Pradesh as of now.

He said 1,300 rapid response teams are continuously monitoring the situation and taking steps to prevent the occurrence of bird flu, according to an official release. Samples from 276 poultry have been tested, he said, adding that tofficials of the Animal Husbandry department are organising health camps and providing suggestions to the poultry industry.

Meanwhile, the state forest department has initiated various measures to prevent bird flu and to report all cases of death of birds on the ground. The curator of Nehru Zoo Park here and the officers of zoos and bird sanctuaries in the state have been directed to constitute Rapid Response Teams for conducting patrolling in areas where migratory birds congregate, a forest department release said.

Field officers have been instructed to collect the carcasses of birds detected and to send them to veterinary science laboratories for analysing and identifying the cause of death. District officers have been requested to coordinate with the Animal Husbandry department and the district administration in taking required preventive measures and to detect death of birds.

Observing that the winter season attracts a large number of migratory birds from the northern region of Himalayas to the southern states, it said such birds nest and breed in water bodies. Since these birds travel over long distances crossing several states, it is essential to keep track of them at the nesting and breeding sites.

A suitable instruction has been issued in this regard, the release said. The forest department requested the general public to provide information on the 24x7 toll free number on any matter relating to bird flu for immediate response.