India has once again been hit by an outbreak of the H591 bird flu, with only Maharashtra and Bihar so far having reported cases of deaths in birds from the highly contagious virus at poultry farms, reported Deccan Herald.
The latest outbreak appears to have first hit Bihar on February 16 at a poultry research farm in Patna, where the virus killed 787 out of 3,859 birds and all of the remaining birds were culled, World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said, citing a report from government officials.
It has since spread to Maharashtra, with farms in Thane and the neighbouring Palghar districts reporting outbreaks.
“Around 100 birds died at the poultry farm in Vehloli village in Shahapur tehsil recently. Their samples were sent to a Pune-based laboratory for testing and the results confirmed that they died due to H5N1 avian influenza,” Chief Executive Officer CEO) of the Thane Zilla Parishad, Dr Bhausaheb Dangde, said. On February 19, Palghar’s district veterinary officer Dr Prashant Kamble said that some birds at the poultry farm in Vasai-Virar region died, after which their samples were sent for testing.
