Thane: Days after cases of Bird-flu were found in some birds in Thane and Palghar district, Maharashtra government made a decision of killing over 25,000 birds in one km radius of infection hotspots in both districts.
Maharashtra Animal Husbandry minister Sunil Kedar on Tuesday said that labourers working in the infected farmed have been isolated.
Avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, was detected among birds at a poultry farm in Vasai-Virar region of Palghar district in Maharashtra, officials have confirmed. This came days after the district’s neighbouring region Thane reported similar cases.
The development was confirmed after results of samples sent to National Institute of High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal were received during the late night hours of Friday. The results of the samples of poultry, including turkey and quails, from Agashi and Vatar of Vasai Taluka were found positive for H5N1 strain.
Earlier last week, bird flu cases were detected in Thane district after around 100 birds died at a poultry farm in Vehloli village in Shahapur tehsil. Their samples were sent to a Pune-based laboratory for test and the results confirmed that they died due to H5N1 avian influenza.
Avian influenza, an infection which primarily affects birds, can also infect humans. The most common type of bird flu is H5N1 which can be easily contracted by humans and other animals if they come in contact with a carrier of the virus. These viruses, have however, not gained the power to transmit from human to human.
Symptoms of avian influenza include gastrointestinal signs like nausea, diarrhea and vomiting in case of A(H5N1) infection. Other common symptoms include cough, fever, headache, diarrhea, respiratory difficulties, runny nose, sore throat, muscle aches and malaise.
A year back, bird flu had struck nearly six districts of Maharashtra and particularly hit Nawapur area of Nandurbar district of western Maharashtra. Migratory birds were said to be the reason behind the flu and more than 10 lakh birds were culled across the state. Prior to that, a massive bird flu wave had struck Maharashtra in 2006.
