Bird flu in poultry confirmed in few more places in Maharashtra, MP, Chhattisgarh

The Centre on Thursday said bird flu cases have been confirmed in poultry birds in a few more districts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

So far, avian influenza in poultry has been confirmed in six states -- Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab.

In a statement, the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying said bird flu has been confirmed in poultry samples from Thane (Kalyan), Yavatmal (Dhunki, Pusad), Wardha (Chakni, Hingaghat), Gondia (Nimba, Goregaon), Ahmednagar (BhumirChavan) and Hingoli (Pimpri Khurd) districts of Maharashtra.

The disease has also been confirmed in poultry birds in Raisen (Gairatganj) district of Madhya Pradesh as well as Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh.

However in Uttar Pradesh, the disease has been confirmed in geese in Hadha, Sikanderpur, Karan of Unnao district.

According to the ministry, the control and containment operations are going on in the affected epicentres of Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

The central team formed for monitoring the situation in the affected areas of the country has visited Parbhani district of Maharashtra to monitor the epicentres of the outbreak and to conduct epidemiological studies.

The viral disease in crow/migratory birds has been confirmed in 10 states so far -- Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

The Central government is taking continuous efforts to generate awareness about the disease through multiple platforms, including social media, it added.