Himachal Pradesh on Sunday reported 4,000-odd migratory bird deaths due to suspected avian flu while Maharashtra ordered selective culling of poultry, based on growing evidence that the virus may be spreading faster than initially feared through domestic birds as well as wintering species.
Several states that host migratory birds deployed rapid-response teams to keep a hawk’s eye on their habitats after carcasses piled up in Himachal, Gujarat, Rajasthan. Officials in Himachal said 4,020 migratory birds, 86 crows and two egrets had died in Kangra, Mandi, Bilaspur and Sirmaur districts.
Crows and other common bird species continued to drop dead in Uttar Pradesh, too, amid fears that bird-inhabited wetlands spread across the state could quickly become a source of infection. Dudhwa National Park, home to over 400 species of birds, is under “strict watch”, forest department official said. UP’s first two confirmed cases of avian flu were at Kanpur zoo.
In Meerut, rapid response teams have been formed to keep an eye on poultry farms.
Gujarat added to the casualty count, with a sprinkling of bird deaths being reported in Kutch, Rajkot, Gir-Somnath and Vadodara. The Gujarat government announced the closure of four bird sanctuaries and the avian sections of all zoos in the state.
Common resident species as well as wild birds continued to sporadically drop dead in 13 districts across Rajasthan, where the first few cases had been detected less than a couple of weeks ago. Poultry farms have been spared so far.