Bird flu in poultry confirmed in SAS Nagar district of Punjab: Centre

Bird flu in poultry birds has been confirmed in Sahibzada Ajit Singh (SAS) Nagar district of Punjab on Thursday, according to a central government report.

The disease has been confirmed in crow in Sopore district of Jammu and Kashmir, while in peacock in Yavatmal district and owl in Nanded district of Maharashtra, it said.

So far, bird flu in poultry birds has been confirmed in nine states -- Kerala, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

In 12 states, the disease has been confirmed in other birds like crows and migratory birds.

In India, bird flu or Avian Influenza is spread mainly by migratory birds coming into the country during winter - between September and March.

In a statement, the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying said control and containment operations are going on in the affected epicentres of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.

Surveillance work is continued at places where positive results have been reported in other species of birds, excluding poultry, it said.

However, peahen and titar samples submitted from Rajkot and Junagarh districts in Gujarat have been tested negative for Avian Influenza virus.

The ministry said compensation is paid to farmers whose poultry birds, eggs and poultry feed are culled/disposed of by the state as per the Action Plan.

The central government is taking continuous efforts to generate awareness about Avian through various platforms, including Twitter, Facebook handles.