Since the confirmation of outbreak of bird flu at Pong Dam Lake Wildlife Sanctuary in Himachal’s Kangra district on January 4, the area is now witnessing substantial decrease in mortality of birds.
“The mortality in birds has reduced in the last two days. Carcasses of 94 migratory birds of different species were recovered till Thursday afternoon.
Till now, 4836 migratory birds have died due to avian influenza- H5N1 at Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary,” said a senior official of the Wildlife wing of Forest Department, Himachal.
He said that the wildlife wing of Himachal Forest Department is maintaining a strict vigil on the wintering habitats of migratory birds in the state and active surveillance for avian influenza is being done to prevent its transmission.
The daily reporting regarding bird mortality numbers and measures being taken to control this outbreak is being done to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
The Ministry has been apprized about the decline in mortality rate in birds due to bird flu in the last three days. The situation is under control, he added.
The official said that rapid response teams of wildlife wing continued their operations on Thursday to search, collected and dispose of dead birds at Pong.
The infected areas are also being disinfected as per protocol, he said.
Till now, maximum fatalities have been reported among Bar-Headed Goose at Pong. Apart from migratory birds, more than 230 native birds have also died since the outbreak of bird flu in the state.
As a prevention and control measure, samples from birds were also collected from zoological parks at Kufri, Renuka and Gopalpur and aviaries (pheasantries) at Sarahan and Chail for testing.
Notably, Himachal Government had imposed a ban on import of poultry products for a week from other states to prevent the spread of bird flu.
SAMPLES FROM CARCASSES OF BIRDS IN CHANDIGARH TEST NEGATIVE FOR BIRD FLU
All the samples of dead birds sent from Chandigarh to the Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (RDDL), Jalandhar have tested negative for bird flu.
“13 samples collected from one dead pigeon and 12 dead crows were sent to the RDDL for testing.
All samples have tested negative for bird flu,” Debendra Dalai, UT Chief Conservator of Forest and Chief Wildlife Warden.
The carcass of a pigeon was found in Sector 49 while eight dead crows were found at Chandigarh Railway Stations. Dead crows were also found at Kaimbwala, Panjab University, Sector 45 and Forest area Sector 26 after which samples were sent for bird flu testing, as a precautionary measure, he said.
Dalai said that the situation is being closely monitored and analyzed in the city.
He said that active surveillance of avian influenza is being done at the Sukhna Lake and Wildlife Sanctuary area.
Earlier, it was in the year 2014 when bird flu was detected in ducks at Sukhna Lake and over 90 ducks were culled to prevent the spread of avian influenza, H5N1 in the city.
Amid the bird flu alert and nationwide effort to contain its spread, ten states namely Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat have reported cases of avian influenza.
