Bird Flu: 35 crows found dead in Delhi, samples collected for testing

As many as 17 crows were found dead at a park in Delhi's Mayur Vihar Phase 3, two at a DDA park in Dwarka, and 16 in Hastsal village of West district on Saturday, following which the Delhi government collected samples to investigate for avian influenza that has been seen in several parts of the country.

According to sources from the Delhi Chief Minister's Office, four samples each were collected from Mayur Vihar and Hastsal, and one was collected from Dwarka.

"After receiving reports about the death of some crows in A2, Central park located in Mayur Vihar Phase 3, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia took note of the incident and directed the concerned department to immediately visit the spot. A rapid response team visited the place and found 17 dead crows in the park out of which four samples were collected," the Deputy CM's office informed.

The remaining carcasses were disposed of at a deep burial. Bio-security measures were followed and the area was properly sanitized. Instructions have also been given to attendants in the park to report any more deaths of the birds.

The collected samples have been submitted to a laboratory in Palam which will then be sent to the National Institute of High-Security Animal Disease and Indian Council of Agricultural Research in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal on January 9 by a special messenger of the department. The samples from DDA Park, Hastsal Village in the West district have been sent to the Northern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Punjab's Jalandhar. The samples have been sent to different laboratories for faster results.

Earlier on Friday, 104 samples were sent to Ludhiana after birds were found dead at the same three locations in Delhi - Mayur Vihar, Dwarka, and Hastsal.

The Animal Husbandry Department, however, has not confirmed any instance of bird flu so far.

The Centre on Friday requested states and Union Territories (UTs) to increase awareness regarding the safety of poultry or poultry products and has also issued appropriate advisories to restore consumer confidence affected by rumors is put to rest.

These six include Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Gujarat.

In Lucknow, authorities of the Zoological Garden increased the bird monitoring after the Kanpur Zoological Park confirmed the death of four birds. The cause of death of birds at Kanpur Zoological Park is not yet clear. Their samples have been sent to the Animal Disease Laboratory of Bhopal under high security, officials said.

Authorities at the Okhla Bird Sanctuary, Dhanuri wetland, and Surajpur wetland in the national capital are on high alert and have given precautionary warnings and protocols to the staff members.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Government has declared the whole state as a 'Controlled Area' in view of the outbreak of bird flu affecting birds including poultry in the neighbouring states. A complete ban on the import of live birds including Poultry and unprocessed Poultry meat for any purpose was banned into the state with immediate effect till January 15, 2021.