Rajasthan's Sawai Madhopur reports cases of avian influenza

So far, avian influenza subtype H5N8 has been found in crows whereas H5N1 is found in poultry birds, Animal Husbandry Department Principal Secretary Kunji Lal Meena said.With fresh cases reported in Sawai Madhopur district on Wednesday, bird flu has spread in five districts of Rajasthan, department officials said.

Cases of avian influenza were reported from Rajasthan's Sawai Madhopur on Wednesday, making it the fifth district in the state after Jhalawar, Kota, Baran and Jaipur to be affected by H5N8 bird flu strain, officials said. Necessary directions have been given to poultry farms owners. So far, avian influenza subtype H5N8 has been found in crows whereas H5N1 is found in poultry birds, Animal Husbandry Department Principal Secretary Kunji Lal Meena said.

With fresh cases reported in Sawai Madhopur district on Wednesday, bird flu has spread in five districts of Rajasthan, department officials said. Meena said that a meeting was held with poultry farm owners and it was chaired by Animal Husbandry Minister Lal Chand Kataria. There are 2500 poultry farm owners in the state, he said.

Meena said that each district will have a control room and PPE kits will be given to teams that are disposing dead birds. Rapid response teams have also been constituted, he said. On Wednesday, death of about 410 more birds was reported in the state, taking the tally to 1,458, as per the animal husbandry department.

Ban on sale of poultry products will not be made until some concrete evidence is found, Meena said. He said that there is no need to panic as the virus has been found in crows and not poultry birds. The officer said that a proposal to set-up a state-level lab is also being looked after by the Centre.

Meanwhile, the state unit of the BJP has criticised government for not taking adequate measures in the wake of the bird flu outbreak. BJP state president Satish Poonia claimed that avian influenza is gradually taking a large shape.

He said that the state government had assured to set-up a testing lab to end its dependency on a lab in Madhya Pradesh but no work has been done. If the infection spreads in poultry birds then it will be dangerous for mammals, humans and animals, Poonia said in a statement..

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