190 pigeons found dead in Ahmedabad city; bird flu suspected

In yet another suspected caseof bird flu, around 190 pigeons were found dead in Gujarat'sAhmedabad city over a period of two days, said officials onThursday.

To ascertain the exact cause of death of the pigeonsin the Narol area, two carcass samples were sent to a Bhopallaboratory for testing for avian influenza, said Dr RajendraPatel, Assistant Director, animal husbandry department,Ahmedabad district.

''Around 190 pigeons were found dead in the Narol areaof the city during the last two days in a suspected case ofbird flu. We have discarded the carcasses as per protocols andsanitised the area.

''We have sent two samples to a Bhopal-based laboratoryfor confirmation (of bird flu),'' said Patel.

Bird flu cases were first reported in Gujarat onJanuary 8 when samples of some dead birds, found near a dam inJunagadh district, later tested positive for avian influenza.

Later, bird flu cases were also reported from Surat,Vadodara and Valsad districts, where samples of dead crowsreturned positive tests for the virus.

Bird flu is a highly infectious and severe respiratorydisease in birds caused by the influenza virus.