Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Crow-scare: Dead birds spark bird flu fears in Jharkhand

Crow-scare: Dead birds spark bird flu fears in Jharkhand
Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 02:46:10 AM

Ranchi
 Crows dropping dead in cities and towns across Jharkhand have sparked panic among the people of the state after health officials pointed a finger at avian virus.

The Jharkhand animal husbandry department (AHD) has sounded an alert and asked people not to touch the dead crows. It has issued advertisements in local dailies asking people to keep away from the dead birds and inform the administration when they spot dead crows.

Health department officials suspect the crows are infected with H5 and H1 avian virus. “Human beings should stay away from the crows.

If the virus enters the human body, it could take the shape of an epidemic,” a health department official told IANS.

“An advisory has been issued considering the deaths of crows in many districts. Expert teams are trying to ascertain the reason behind the deaths of the crows,” animal husbandry department director A G Bandhopadhya told reporters.

Dead crows have been found in large numbers in Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Khuti, Sahebganj and other districts of the state. A team of experts of the Indian Veterinary Research Institute of Bhopal is in Jharkhand to ascertain the reasons behind these deaths.

Jharkhand has been keeping different institutes of the country and the Central government posted about the latest developments.

Two months ago, West Bengal and Assam saw a spurt in bird flu cases, triggering culling of poultry and eggs.

This prompted other states including Tripura to impose a ban on import of poultry products from these two states.

Fowl threat

The first reports of bird flu in India came from Nawapur in Nandurbar district of Maharashtra in 2006.

Within five days of confirmation about the outbreak, over 2.5 lakh chicken and lakhs of eggs were destroyed.

Villagers exhibiting flu-like symptoms were quarantined and kept under observation.

Movement of people into the area was strictly regulated and passenger trains were instructed not to halt at Nawapur.


http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/3/201111302011113002462395cf381c0d/Crowscare-Dead-birds-spark-bird-flu-fears-in-Jharkhand.html

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