Thousands of birds die of bird flu in India

Amid coronavirus pandemic, several Indian states reported the cases of bird flu that killed thousands of birds. The guidelines to contain the spread of disease have been issued by the government. Some states have sent samples for testing while Kerala began culling of chickens and ducks. Nearly 1,700 ducks have died in Kerala due to the flu. According to media reports, over four lakh poultry birds have died at farms in Panchkula district in the last several days. The officials said that 155 dead crows were found infected with H5N8 strain. In Himachal Pradesh, the flu killed thousands of migratory birds, mostly bar-headed geese. Officials inspected the area around the Pong Dam Lake sanctuary in Kangra district to check the spread of the flu to domestic poultry birds. The concerned department in Kerala began the operation of culling birds in and around a one-km radius of the affected areas in Alappuzha and Kottayam after results of samples tested confirmed the outbreak of the bird flu in the two districts. The officials said that rapid response teams are culling ducks, hens and other domestic birds as per guidelines.