Bird flu scare: 900 hens die at poultry farm in Maharashtra's Parbhani

As man as 900 hens have died

at a poultry farm in Murumba village in Parbhani district of Maharashtra, a senior official said on Saturday.

Their samples have been sent for investigation to identify the exact cause of the death, Parbhani district collector Deepak Mulgikar told PTI.

"900 hens have died in two consecutive days in Murumba village in the Marathwada region. We have taken the samples of the deceased birds for investigation," he said.

He said the poultry farm where the death of birds was reported is run by a Self Help Group (SHG).

"This poltry farm has some 8,000 birds. 900 birds have died over two days. No death of birds was reported in the last 24 hours," he said.

Prima facie, the death of hens could be related to nutrition, the collector said, adding that the test results are awaited.

Maharashtra has so far not reported any cases of bird flu or avian influenza.

On January 8, the Centre said that bird flu has been confirmed so far in six states- Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat.

In 2006, H5N1 virus outbreak was reported in Nandurbar and Dhule districts in north Maharashtra, which had affected thousands of birds.