The death toll of migratory birds crossed over 2300 on Tuesday in Himachal’s Pong wetland due to the outbreak of deadly avian influenza- H5N1.
Not only this, the local birds such as crows have also been found dead in the wetland area triggering concerns for the alarming situation in Kangra district.
The state Cabinet meeting held under Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur reviewed the situation arising due to the bird flu in the state.
The cabinet has directed the Department of Health and Department of Animal Husbandry to ensure adequate availability of medicines specific to the H5N1 and PPE kits for staff. The cabinet has further directed strict enforcement of restrictions on movement imposed around Pong wetland by the Deputy Commissioner, Kangra.
A report from National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal, had a day before confirmed the presence of H5N1 avian influenza in the samples of five dead Bar- Headed Goose found at Pong Dam in Himachal’s Kangra district.
Sources said that all the wetlands including Renuka wetland, which hosts migratory birds every year, wildlife sanctuaries and zoos in the state have been put on alert. Samples collected from migratory birds at Renuka Dam have also been sent for bird flu testing. Samples from poultry farms have also been collected for testing, said sources.
The samples of blood, faecal or throat swab of the birds are collected for the disease investigation.
It is for the first time that bird flu has been reported at the Pong wetland which is known as migratory birds’ paradise as it hosts more than one lakh winged guests during winter season.
Sources said that due to the bird flu, the annual avian census conducted at Pong Dam in January and February will be suspended this year. Given the current situation, the area is likely to remain under surveillance and carrying out sanitization exercise for about a month’s time, sources said.
All kinds of human and livestock activities have already been banned in the one km area around the lake which is declared as alert zone (red zone) while the next nine km area has been declared a surveillance zone.
According to the census exercise conducted in January this year, as many as 1.15 lakh birds of 114 species were recorded at the Pong Dam Lake.
“More than 2300 migratory birds have died till now. We have sounded an alert due to bird flu and all precautionary measures are being taken by the field staff at the Pong Dam,” said Rahul Rohane, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Wildlife Division, Hamirpur while talking to The Pioneer.
He said that on an average, death of more than 200 migratory birds is being reported every day at the wetland. The Department is following the guidelines for burning and burying the carcasses of migratory birds.
Maximum fatalities have been seen among Bar-Headed Goose. Fatalities have also been reported in species namely Common Teal, Northern Shoveler, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Black-headed Gull among others, he added.
As a precautionary measure, sale of poultry products and fish have been banned in Fatehpur, Dehra, Jawali and Indora subdivisions of Kangra district till further orders.
The Pong Dam, also known as Pong Reservoir, Pong Dam Lake and the Maharana Pratap Sagar is a well-known wildlife sanctuary and one of the international wetland sites declared in India by the Ramsar Convention. Every year, more than one lakh migratory birds of over 100 species from Siberia and Central Asia descend on Pong wetland for their winter sojourn.
Alongside the Covid-19 outbreak across the world last year, there have been bird flu outbreaks in several countries in Europe and East Asia. In India, the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza has also affected states namely Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala.
Notably, humans can get infected by H5N1 only upon close interaction with infected live or dead birds, or H5N1-contaminated environments. If infected, humans tend to fall severely ill and also require hospitalisation. Oseltamivir, an antiviral medicine is used widely to prevent severity of the virus and death.
