The Animal Husbandry Department on Tuesday sent samples of birds that died mysteriously in Dumka for avian influenza test to Kolkata after the recovery of the carcasses, including that of parrots, at a village triggered panic among locals, officials said.
“Some parrots, mynas and pigeons died in Dumka. We have collected samples from the carcasses of the birds and sent them for tests to Kolkata,” said Animal Husbandry Director Nancy Sahay.
While several such incidents of birds dying mysteriously have been reported from different parts of Jharkhand, no positive case of H5N1 bird flu has been confirmed in the State so far, said Sahay. “We had sent samples of some crows that died in Jamshedpur and Dhanbad, but the test results confirmed that they did not die of avian influenza,” she added.
Meanwhile, the Government has asked poultry farm owners and bird keepers to keep an eye on birds for symptoms of the virus and maintain distance from the carcasses of birds that die mysteriously. Jharkhand had reported cases of bird flu in 2019 and 2020, but the virus only infected wild birds in the state.
Cases of bird flu in Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and other states in India have rung the alarm bells for the authorities in Jharkhand. While the authorities are keeping an eye on the developments, precautionary measures to check the entry of the virus in Jharkhand territory are being taken in all the districts, officials said.
After issuing an alert over bird flu in all the 24 districts of Jharkhand, the Animal Husbandry department has sent samples of birds from various zoos and poultry farms for tests. Samples of more than 3000 birds, including some wild birds that died mysteriously, were sent for tests but none of them tested positive, officials from the Animal Husbandry Department said on Tuesday.
The government is also contemplating a ban on the entry of poultry products from other states in the wake of the avian flu outbreak. However, the decision, officials said will be taken depending on the situation in the neighbouring states. Jharkhand shares its borders with West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Chhattisgarh, and none of these states have reported cases of bird flu so far.
Meanwhile, the demand for chicken has dropped in Ranchi amid bird flu scare, triggering minor fall in the price of live chicken in the market. On Tuesday, chicken was sold at Rs.120 per kilogram in parts of Kanke Road, Morhabadi, Mahatma Gandhi Road and Bariatu localities.