Maha: 181 more birds die but mortality on decline, says govt

With the death of 181 more birdsin Maharashtra amid the avian influenza scare, the totalnumber of such deaths since January 8 has risen to 20,198 eventhough the daily mortality among birds has been on a declinesince the last week, an official said on Wednesday.

At least 144 of the 181 birds died on Tuesday werepoultry birds, he said.

The samples of these dead birds are being sent to theNational Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD),Bhopal, and the Disease Investigation Section, Pune, toascertain the exact cause of their death, the official said.

Besides the 144 poultry birds, 21 crows and 16 otherbirds, including herons and parrots, also died on Tuesday, asper an official release.

The statement, however, did not specify the number ofthe samples from Maharashtra testing positive for bird flu atthe NISHAD so far.

A total of 72,106 poultry birds, 44,686 eggs and63,339 kg poultry feed have been destroyed from infected zonesin Maharashtra until now, the government said.

As per the protocol to check the spread of the birdflu infection, carcasses of birds are put in a gunny sack andburied into a ditch lined with a layer of lime.