The local administration at the Chilika has sounded bird flu alert after hundreds of migratory birds were found dead in the lake area during the last week. Though postmortem has not been carried out on any of the dead birds yet bird flu is suspected to be the primary reason for their deaths.
As part of alert, the local administration has put up posters around Chilika urging people not to catch, prey or eat bird meat or step on their excreta. The posters also asked the locals not to let their domestic animals go near the dead birds.
Notably, many migratory birds had died in 2012 due to the bird flu. Swabs and blood samples of many dead birds from Nalabana had reportedly tested positive for H5N1 avian influenza.