Seven of the cases were found in Jalgaon. The eighth sample was from just across the border in the Madhya Pradesh state.
MUMBAI: India has reported seven new cases of bird flu in Maharashtra, and one in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh state, officials said.
The virus was suspected to be the H5N1 strain and tests were underway on samples from the birds to confirm the type, they said.
The latest outbreak of seven confirmed cases was reported from Jalgaon district, which also reported the country’s second set of infections of H5N1 in poultry earlier this month. The eighth case was also confirmed across the border in Burhanpur district in Madhya Pradesh.
“It is a larger area than the second outbreak in the same Jalgaon district. All the birds have to be culled,” said Bijay Kumar, Animal Husbandry Commissioner of Maharashtra.
About 250,000 birds would have to be culled spread over some 200 villages in Jalgaon, he said. Birds will also be killed in affected villages in Madhya Pradesh's Burhanpur area.
Maharashtra Animal Health Minister Anees Ahmed said the positive samples were tested during routine surveillance following the second outbreak in Jalgaon.
“It is a case of co-infection at the same site (Jalgaon) and more or less at the same time,” Ahmed said. TP Doke, state health director, said they were identifying the affected villages and preparing a list of residents to be monitored.
“We will start our surveillance for people with flu-like symptoms from on Wednesday.”
Hundreds of thousands of chickens have been killed in February and March after the first two outbreaks in Maharashtra. “The same drill of culling birds, clean-up and sanitising will be followed,” Kumar said.
Although India has tested scores of people in areas where chickens have tested positive for bird flu, it has not reported avian influenza in humans. Kumar said teams of veterinary workers were being sent to Jalgaon and culling would begin on Wednesday.
India has been testing birds in hundreds of villages around Jalgaon and Navapur, which is one district away from Jalgaon and where the first outbreak was reported last month.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}