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Scores Of Crows Dead Due To ‘Bird Flu’, Centre Issues Alert To States

Saying that samples need to be collected from areas where bird flu deaths are being reported, the central government has also issued an alert to the states.

Civic health officials today said the situation is worsening in Rajasthan after bird flu virus was detected in crows, whose carcasses were found in the city three days ago. The authorities are now on high alert, India Today reported.

“Till now, 47 crows have died in Kota, 100 in Jhalawar and 72 in Baran. No death reported in Bundi. We are taking necessary steps to spread awareness and control the situation,” said Rajasthan principal secretary Kunji Lal Meena.

Rajasthan Animal Husbandry Minister Lalchand Kataria said: “It’s a serious matter, an emergency meeting of concerned officials has been called. We are monitoring it.”

On Saturday, 25 deaths were reported in Jhalawar, 19 in Barra and 22 in Kota. 152 crows were found dead in Jodhpur. Deaths of crows have been reported from Jhalawar, Kota, Pali among other places. Birds like kingfishers and magpies have also been found dead, according to the report by India Today.

Saying that samples need to be collected from areas where bird flu deaths are being reported, the central government has also issued an alert to the states.

“Nearly 50 crows were found dead on the campus of The Daly College in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore on Tuesday. Some of the carcasses were sent for tests to Bhopal. They were found to be carrying the H5N8 virus,” said Poornima Gadaria, the Indore chief medical and health officer.

She added that a survey is being conducted to trace those with cold, cough and fever in the radius of five kilometres in the plush residency area where the college is situated. “Suspected patients’ swab samples will be tested.”

On Friday, 20 more crows were found dead on Daly College’s premises, said the deputy director of Indore veterinary service Pramod Sharma. The test results of these carcasses were awaited.

The bird flu can prove fatal for not only birds but also humans. The state governments, as a protocol, have imposed prohibitory orders in areas where bird mortality has been reported and may go for the culling of poultry if located within a kilometre of such a site.

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