Delhi Development Minister Gopal Rai on Friday ruled out any threat to human beings due to the bird flu or avian influenza as the strain of the virus is "less infective", even as six ducks were found dead in the national Capital.
Rai has earlier visited chicken market at Ghazipur mandi for an inspection and said the situation is normal there. "Close monitoring is on, the situation is normal and no infection was found in the 2.2 lakh birds that have recently arrived," Rai said in a series of tweets.
Also, Rai has written to the Animal Husbandry Ministers of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan over bird flu panic after H5 virus found in migratory birds.
Rai said the H5N8 virus was found in the samples of three birds which had recently died at Delhi zoo, and not the H5N1 virus, which are more "infective" and "may affect humans".
There is no need to panic as all measures are in place to deal with the situation. The category of H5N8 influenza has been found in the samples of three birds died recently at Delhi zoo.
Experts suggested that H5N8 is not harmful for human. This virus has also been found in US, Japan, Netherlands, China and other countries where H5N8 has not affected human," he said.
Also, Rai chaired a meeting with Chief Secretary and officials from departments concerned over the situation.
The Minister said regular monitoring is being done and their team is dedicated to taking samples consistently and sending it to be tested in Jalandhar.
"Some research experts are also coming here and a special squad is closely monitoring the entire situation. An expert team from Jalandhar and Bhopal laboratories will meet over the matter. There is absolutely no need to panic as we are on top of the situation," Rai said.
According to Rai, the Delhi Government has written to the Animal Husbandry ministers of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan over bird flu panic after H5 virus found in migratory birds. "It is observed that there is continuous movement of migratory birds from areas of Haryana, UP and Rajasthan which are adjacent to Delhi. I would request you to kindly sensitise the concern authorities about these incident and issue required instructions for keeping surveillance and monitoring," the letter stated.
Around 100 more samples have been collected in the last two days from Ghazipur, Okhla Bird Sanctuary, Najafgarh drain, Yamuna Biodiversity Park and the Central Park in Hauz Khas and sent to a specialised Regional Disease Diagnostic laboratory in Jalandhar.
Meanwhile, the National Zoological Park in Delhi, which has been closed temporarily, has reported fresh cases of deaths of pelican birds. The zoo was shut down on Wednesday after nine birds, including painted storks, ducks and pelicans died of avian influenza at its premises between October 14 and October 17.
A team of Central Zoo Authority is currently inspecting all the enclosures at the zoo. Also, the Delhi Government has shut down the Deer Park in Hauz Khas after it suspected that two birds found dead inside the park could be infected with bird flu.
Chicken prices, demands dip
New Delhi: Prices of chicken have dipped after the avian flu scare hit the national Capital, wholesalers at Ghazipur chicken mandi said.
If the threat of bird flu prolongs for another week, the prices may fall by over 50 per cent, Yaqoob Qureshi, who owns a wholesale shop at Ghanzipur mandi, said. Another trader Ali Murtaza said he sold chicken for anything between `120 and `180 per kg in different markets of the city, but the now the prices have come down by `20 in wholesale market.
Also, he pointed out that the sale has come down as he is selling 550 kg chicken a day against 700 kg earlier.
A wholesaler at Ghazipur said, "Bird flu scare has hit the market real bad and the prices of chicken are falling in the mandi."
Retail shopkeepers and restaurant owners too said they have started facing the problems. "The average demand from my shop during this time of the year is around 100 kg chickens which on Thursday were reduced to less than 60 kg," a poultry shop owner in south Delhi's lajpat Nagar said. "I have not placed any fresh orders," the shop owner added.
The Ghazipur mandi is the only meat market which caters to the entire city and perhaps the only place from where the virus can enter the food chain, said experts.
Each day the market receives at least 200 trucks of chicken which officials from the Animal Husbandry Department said account to about 2.5 lakh chickens entering the market on a daily basis.
The livestock comes from neighbouring states like Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana. While the Government has increased its monitoring at the borders to ensure that no dead or sick chicken enters the mandi, wholesalers are wary of the effectiveness of the same.