BHOPAL: The killer bird flu virus is no longer confined to just dead crows in parts of Madhya Pradesh, but has also been found in samples of chicken at shops in Indore and Neemuch, besides being present in shikras in Khargone district and herons in Khandwa district.
According to Madhya Pradesh Director (Animal Husbandry) RK Rokde, the avian influenza outbreak has now been reported among dead crows and other birds in eight districts including Indore, Agar-Malwa, Neemuch, Mandsaur, Khargone, Dewas, Guna and Khandwa.
The killer virus has also been found present in bagula (heron) samples in Khandwa, shikra samples in Khargone and chicken samples in Indore and Neemuch district, he added.
So far, the sudden death of around 700 crows has been reported from various parts of MP, particularly the western regions of the state.
According to the latest information, the swab samples of chicken from poultry shops in some parts of Indore and Neemuch have tested positive for the avian influenza virus.
While Indore is MP’s most populated city and has also reported the maximum COVID-19 cases and related deaths, Neemuch district neighbours Rajasthan.
“We’ve issued directions to close for one week all poultry and chicken shops in one km radius of those shops from where samples have been found to be positive for the killer virus in tests conducted at the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD-Bhopal). Also, surveillance of other poultry shops and farms within 10 km radius of the concerned poultry-chicken shops has been started,” Rokde told The New Indian Express.
“We’re now trying to ascertain the source of poultry chicken at the concerned shops in Indore and Neemuch. If the chicken supplied to these shops is local or within the state, then samples of birds will be collected from such local poultry farms and sent for testing. If the source of chicken at these shops of Indore and Neemuch is found to be from outside MP, then we’ll write to the concerned state governments to get samples from concerned poultry farms tested for the bird flu virus,” he informed.
As per informed sources, the poultry chicken in shops in Indore and Neemuch (whose samples have tested for bird flu virus) could possibly have been sourced from a northern state.
With presence of the avian influenza causing virus now being detected in samples from chicken shops in Indore and Neemuch, the state health department will screen owners and employees of those shops and get their swab samples tested. Extensive door to door checking of bird flu like symptoms in the human population living in areas contiguous to those shops will also be conducted by the health department in Indore and Neemuch.
In the wake of the bird flu outbreak being reported in Kerala, the MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan had on Wednesday announced a ban on all poultry-chicken consignments from Kerala and neighbouring southern states.
Also, the Mandsaur district administration has already banned sale of poultry chicken in one km radius of the spot in Mandsaur town where sudden deaths of dozens of crows were reported recently and the samples of dead crows had subsequently tested positive for avian influenza. The district administration in both Neemuch and Mandsaur districts (both bordering Rajasthan) has banned poultry consignments from other districts/states.
Agar town in Agar-Malwa district (which also neighbours Rajasthan) too has banned sale of poultry chicken in the town limits, while administration in Panna district of Bundelkhand region to has issued similar orders banning sale of poultry chicken.