Bird flu enters MP, 6,600 birds to be culled soon

High alert has been declared and Section 144 imposed in Burhanpur in Madhya Pradesh after some birds in Ichhapur village, bordering Jalgaon district of Maharashtra, were found to be infected with bird flu.

The Centre has directed the state to collect three to five samples from a number of districts, including Barwani, Jhabua, Khandwa, Burhanpur, Khargone, Betul, Dhar, Dewas, Harda, Hoshangabad and Indore by April 1.

An official said a letter from the Centre confirmed today that few samples had tested positive for the H5N1 strain. Efforts were on to prevent the spread of infection with veterinary service staff put on high alert, she said.

Animal Husbandry Department Principal Secretary Ranjana Chaudhuri said, "As many as 23 teams of experts have been sent to 'Ground Zero'. But only 6,600 birds will be culled." She also said the poultry breeder association has also declared an alert to adopt bio-security measures and precautions.

While sources told Business Standard that among the samples sent from Ichhapur to the laboratory here, one tested positive for Avian Influenza, while three others were found positive in preliminary tests. Further results are awaited.

"Approximately 4,5000 samples have been tested so far and the entire staff is busy round-the-clock in testing," HK Pradhan, head of the laboratory had told Business Standard recently.