A total of 96 birds including 77 poultry birds have been found dead due to avian influenza in Maharashtra. The samples are being sent to National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal and Disease Investigation Section, Pune.
A total of 19,923 deaths of various birds have been recorded till the date since the outbreak of bird flu on January 8.
The department of animal husbandry said the daily mortality trend among the birds has been declining since the last eight days.
So far 72,106 poultry birds, 44,686 eggs and 63,339 kg poultry feed have been destroyed within a radius of 1 km from the affected poultry farms. The state government has enforced measures as per the provisions of the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animals Act, 2009.
Surveillance work continues in places where positive results have been reported in other species of birds, excluding poultry. The process of cloacal and oro-pharyngeal swabs, dropping and serum samples of the birds from 1-10 km radius area from the infected zones will be initiated after issuing the sanitisation certificate.
The government has conferred powers to the district collectors for the prevention, control and eradication of avian influenza. The local administration has started the process of declaring an alert zone in areas where poultry birds have died of bird flu.