The Delhi zoo will remain closed till Sunday due to suspected cases of avian influenza in migratory birds.
According to Riyaz Khan, Curator, Education, Delhi Zoo around eight water birds and a few ducks and pelicans were reportedly down with bird flu last week. "The zoo has been shut down until further notice. We have sent samples of a couple of dead ducks to Jalandhar and Mathura. We are awaiting the reports," said Khan.
On Wednesday, Delhi Development Minister Gopal Rai visited the zoo and called a meeting to dsicuss precautionary measures across the city. Rai said bird sanctuaries, poultry farms and chicken markets in the city will be closely monitored. Notably, these cases come nearly a month after India declared itself free from the highly contagious avian influenza (H5N1) or bird flu.
Rai said the situation is not alarming for now and added that the influenza doesn't affect humans directly. Rai, who heads the State Animal Husbandry Department, said National Zoological Park (Delhi zoo) has been shut for three days as part of precautionary measures. The Minister went to the zoo with officials on Wednesday to take stock of the situation. He said this is for the first time that H5 avian influenza has affected birds.
The Government has set up a monitoring cell and issued a helpline number (011-23890318) appealing Delhiites to inform in case they spot dead birds in their vicinity. At the zoo, a ten-member team will be closely monitoring the situation. "We've constituted six rapid action teams to monitor the situation in Okhla Bird Sanctuary, Ghazipur Murga Mandi, Yamuna Diversity Park, Najafgarh Drain, Nizamuddin, where migratory birds come in good numbers," he said.
Rai said the dead birds were "migratory" which indicates that there are some affected points in their transit route due to which birds at Delhi zoo also got affected. "We are taking steps to prevent spread of virus. We are holding a meeting with officials of Health, Revenue and other concerned departments on Thursday. In the meeting, discussion on medical arrangements in city's hospitals will also be made so that people don't face any problem in case of emergency," he said.
Asked about human infection, Rai said according to experts, birds are only affected. "If people consume infected chicken, they can get affected. If virus spread and its symptoms are spotted, we will put some restrictions," he further said.
Also, Rai said the Delhi Government has called a meeting on Friday with a team of officials of Maharashtra, which effectively dealt with this virus 10 years ago.
At least nine birds including ducks and pelicans were found dead this week, forcing zoo authorities to close the zoo to visitors on Tuesday and send samples for testing to labs in Jalandhar and Bhopal.
The director of the zoo Amitabh Agnihotri said, "This flu is not a threat to human beings as of now. It is found in wild birds. It has not infected the resident birds in the zoo."
The official claimed that the influenza will not affect humans and the shutting down of zoo premises was a precautionary measure.
A team of Central Zoo Authority will shortly visit the premises of the zoo which houses around 40 pelicans and 20 ducks.
Bird flu affects mainly the domestic poultry. The disease spreads from infected birds to other winged creatures through contact with nasal and respiratory secretions and also due to contamination of feed and water.