Maha: Bird flu cases confirmed in Parbhani, Mumbai, Thane

Avian influenza has beenconfirmed as the cause of death of different birds inParbhani, Mumbai, Thane, Beed and Dapoli in Maharashtra, asper test reports of a Bhopal-based lab, a senior stategovernment official said on Monday.

However, it is ''absolutely safe'' to consume eggs orchicken as the virus cannot withstand cooking temperatures,and people need not worry as infection to humans due to birdflu is ''rarest of rare'', state animal husbandry departmentsecretary Anoop Kumar told PTI.

The official also said they would be increasingbio-safety measures in poultry farms so that there is nointerface with wild birds.

In the morning, Parbhani Collector Deepak Muglikartold PTI that bird flu has been confirmed as the cause ofdeath of around 900 hens at a poultry farm in Murumba villageand the district administration has decided to cull nearly8,000 birds in the village.

Kumar said the animal husbandry department has alreadystarted implementing its action plan and the culling of birdswill begin from Tuesday.

He said 8,000 to 10,000 birds within one-km radius ofthe infected zone in Parbhani may be culled.

According to the Bhopal-based ICAR-National Instituteof High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), two crows fromMumbai died due to bird flu.

Three pond egrets and a parrot from Thane wereinfected by the H5N1 avian influenza virus, the institute'stest report said.

Besides, a chicken and two herons from Parbhani toodied of H5N1 avian influenza virus, while crows from Beed andDapoli (in Ratnagiri district) were infected by H5N8 avianinfluenza virus, as per the report.

''Our action plan implementation work has begun. Wewill be holding a review meeting with the chief minister(Uddhav Thackeray) in the evening,'' Kumar said.

''We will get our strategies approved by the CM andstart culling from tomorrow, especially in Parbhani wherepoultry birds have been found to be infected,'' he said.

The government machinery, including districtcollectors and forest department, is on alert, he said.

Kumar also said that people need not worry asinfection to humans due to bird flu is ''rarest of rare''.

The state government is also running a campaign tomake people aware that it is safe to consume eggs and poultryproducts, because there is ''absolutely no possibility'' ofinfection due to eating them.

''And our cooking temperature takes care of any kind ofvirus, not only flu virus...it is absolutely safe to eat eggsand chicken,'' he said.

Talking to reporters in Jalna, state Health MinisterRajesh Tope said his department is on alert in view of thebird flu cases found in the state.

However, there is nothing to fear, he said and askedpeople to take care and be safe.

Earlier, Parbhani Collector Muglikar said they havecreated a prohibitory zone in 10 km radius of the area wherethe birds died.

''No birds will be transported from there to any otherplace. Our medical team is stationed there and it is examiningall people of the village,'' he said.

There is no need to be panic and the districtadministration is taking all precautions, he added.

Meanwhile, the Thane Municipal Corporation has set upa control room to monitor the situation and appealed to peopleto promptly report any cases of bird deaths in the city.

It will also work to pro-actively remove fear from theminds of citizens and give them appropriate information fromtime-to-time, a release from thhe civic body said.

Bird flu cases have so far been confirmed inMaharashtra, Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, HimachalPradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.