By Teddy Cambosa

The Indian states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala have reported bird flu outbreaks in their respective states, a statement from the Minister of State (MoS) for Agriculture and Food Processing Sanjeev Balyan said.

India
Image/CIA

“It’s not a new trend. In India, bird flu was first reported in India in 2006 and since 2015 every year some cases are reported. But, till today India has reported no case of transmission to humans,” he said.

He also added, “There is no treatment for it, we can only keep precautions. We have directed the state government to dispose of the dead birds carefully. Only Kerala and Haryana have reported cases in poultry. In Kerala the virus was found in duck and in Haryana in poultry.”

Bird deaths have been recorded in Rajasthan, Kerala, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, and the government has identified 12 epicentres after the positive samples in four states: Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala.

“There is no direct evidence that AI viruses can be transmitted to humans via the consumption of contaminated poultry products. In India, the disease spreads mainly by migratory birds coming into India during winter months i.e. from September – October to February – March. The secondary spread by human handling (through fomites) cannot be ruled out,” the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying said.

 


 

Teddy Cambosa is a graduating BS Biology student and a former campus journalist at Batangas State University. He is also currently writing for MARKETECH APAC, a small APAC-focused marketing news site.