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Bird Flu
A World Health Organisation team visited the National Zoological Park in Delhi on Thursday to review measures taken against the spread of avian influenza, even as officials said that no new bird deaths have been reported. The zoo administration said intensive sanitation and bio-security measures are being implemented to safeguard the health of birds, animals and staff. The World Health Organisation team held discussions with the zoo director regarding the health screening of frontline staff and measures taken for public safety, and expressed satisfaction with the steps in place, an official said. Meanwhile, a surveillance team from the Central Zoo Authority, along with officials from the Delhi government's animal husbandry department also collected environmental and bird samples from the Delhi zoo for further screening and analysis. The Delhi zoo said it remains on high alert and is taking all necessary measures as per standard guidelines to contain the disease at the earliest. On
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday ordered enhanced security across all zoos, bird sanctuaries, national parks, wetlands and cow shelters in the state amid the potential danger of bird flu in Uttar Pradesh. The CM ordered regular sanitisation of zoo premises, emphasising immediate implementation of measures as per central and state guidelines, according to an official statement. The sanitisation measures also include blow-torching, if required, along with mandatory health checks for all animals and birds. He said food should be given only after thorough diet inspections of the animals, and staff duties in enclosures must be assigned based on risk levels to ensure full safety compliance. Adityanath directed that zoo staff be trained on detecting and stopping the spread of bird flu, scientifically known as avian influenza, and be equipped with PPE kits and safety gear. He also called for monitoring of all poultry farms in UP as per standards, with tight control over the ...
A bird flu outbreak has been confirmed in a poultry farm in Odisha's Puri district, prompting the state government to launch emergency containment measures, including mass culling of over 6,700 birds, a senior official said on Sunday. The state government resorted to mass culling of the birds after the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), Bhopal, confirmed that samples collected from Bada Ankula village in Delanga block of the district tested positive for the H5N1 avian influenza virus, he added. Over 6,700 birds were culled on Saturday and Sunday following standard operating procedure (SOP) lay down by the Centre, he said. Sarat Kumar Behera, chief district veterinary officer (CDVO), Puri, informed that five rapid response teams (RRTs) along with health teams have been deployed in the area where bird flu cases were detected. "We have completely restricted the movement of live birds in and out of the infected zone," he said. After completing culling within
In view of bird flu cases being detected in three districts of Karnataka, the administration is carrying out mass culling, while ramping up its surveillance across the state, especially in districts bordering Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, officials said on Saturday. Avian influenza (AI), also known as bird flu, is a zoonotic viral disease that primarily affects poultry and may occasionally spillover to mammals, including humans and swine, they said. Cases of bird flu among poultry birds have been reported in Manvi taluk of Raichur, Chikkaballapur taluk of Chikkaballapur and Sandur taluk of Ballari districts, they said. However, no cases of bird flu in humans have been reported in the state so far, officials said. Ansar Ahmed, project director, integrated disease surveillance programme, told PTI that H5N1 was confirmed in the Regional Poultry Breeding and Training Centres of Kurekuppa, Ballari District and Chikkaballapur District at NIHSAD Lab, Bhopal on February 25. The matter was
The Agriculture Department is scrambling to rehire several workers who were involved in the US government's response to the ongoing bird flu outbreak that has devastated egg and poultry farms over the past three years. The workers were among the thousands of federal employees eliminated on the recommendations of billionaire Elon Musk 's Department of Government Efficiency that is working to carry out Trump's promise to streamline and reshape the federal government. Republican Rep Don Bacon said the administration should be more careful in how it carries out the cuts. "While President Trump is fulfilling his promise to shed light on waste, fraud, and abuse in government, DOGE needs to measure twice and cut once. Downsizing decisions must be narrowly tailored to preserve critical missions," said Bacon, who represents a swing district in Nebraska. The bird flu outbreak has prompted the slaughter of roughly 160 million birds to help control the virus since the outbreak began in 2022. M
The Chandrapur district administration in Maharashtra has declared Mangli village and areas falling within a radius of 10km from it as an 'alert zone' to prevent the spread of bird flu, official sources said on Tuesday. The collector and chairman of the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Monday issued an order in this regard, outlining steps to prevent the spread of bird flu, they said. According to the sources, after the death of poultry birds in Mangli village under Brahmapuri tehsil on January 25, samples were collected by the Animal Husbandry Department and sent to the State Level Animal Disease Investigation Laboratory and Indian Council of Agricultural Research-National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Pune and Bhopal, respectively. The samples came positive for bird flu (avian influenza H5N1). After receiving of reports, the Chandrapur collector and chairman of the DDMA declared Mangli village and areas within a radius of 10km from it as an 'alert
An investigation report from a laboratory in Bhopal on Wednesday revealed that the Demoiselle cranes found dead recently in Jaisalmer had died from bird flu, an official said. The Jaisalmer district administration has declared the Luneri pond area of Degrai Oran an infected hotspot and is taking effective steps to prevent the spread of the infection, officials said. On January 11, the bodies of six cranes were found in the pond area of Degrai Oran, followed by the discovery of two more dead cranes on January 12. The viscera of all eight dead birds were sent to Nishad Lab in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) for examination and the reoport received on Wednesday confirmed that bird flu was the cause of death. A joint team from the Animal Husbandry Department, Forest Department, and Medical Department has been formed to monitor the situation. Joint Director of the Animal Husbandry Department, Jaisalmer, Dr Umesh Wrangatiwar, said that there is a complete ban on the movement of the general publ
The first US bird flu death has been reported a person in Louisiana who had been hospitalised with severe respiratory symptoms. Louisiana health officials announced the death on Monday. Health officials have said the person was older than 65, had underlying medical problems and had been in contact with sick and dead birds in a backyard flock. They also said a genetic analysis had suggested the bird flu virus had mutated inside the patient, which could have led to the more severe illness. They have disclosed few other details about the person. Since March, 66 confirmed bird flu infections have been reported in the US, but previous illnesses have been mild and most have been detected among farmworkers exposed to sick poultry or dairy cows. In two cases and adult in Missouri and a child in California health officials have not determined how they caught it. The origin of the Louisiana person's infection was not considered a mystery. But it was the first human case in the U.S. linke
A genetic analysis suggests the bird flu virus mutated inside a Louisiana patient who contracted the nation's first severe case of the illness, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said this week. Scientists believe the mutations may allow the virus to better bind to receptors in the upper airways of humans something they say is concerning but not a cause for alarm. Michael Osterholm, a University of Minnesota infectious disease researcher, likened this binding interaction to a lock and key. To enter a cell, the virus needs to have a key that turns the lock, and this finding means the virus may be changing to have a key that might work. Is this an indication that we may be closer to seeing a readily transmitted virus between people? No, Osterholm said. Right now, this is a key that sits in the lock, but it doesn't open the door. The virus has been causing sporadic, mostly mild illnesses in people in the US, and nearly all of those infected worked on dairy or poultry .