Parliamentary meeting will take place today to examine the availability of animal vaccines in the country.
The results of the samples taken from Delhi and Maharashtra have confirmed bird flu which has increased the number of affected states to 9. Seven other states that had confirmed the flu earlier are- Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. Senior officials of the Ministry of Animal Husbandry have been summoned by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture to check the availability of animal vaccines in the country. The meeting will be held at 3 pm on Monday.
In order to curb the Avian influenza from spreading, Delhi has banned the import of alive birds. The biggest wholesale poultry market in Ghazipur has also been temporarily closed. "Rapid response teams have been formed in every district to contain the spread. Veterinary doctors are also constantly on the lookout. The focus is particularly on the poultry markets in Sanjay Lake, Bhalswa Lake, and Hauz Khas," Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said.
In Maharashtra, Parbhani which is about 500 km from state capital Mumbai, is the epicenter of the flu. "About 800 poultry birds- all hens- died in the last two days. Their samples were given for testing. And now it is confirmed that the reason is bird flu," Deepak Madhukar Munglikar, District Collector said, NDTV reported. "It has been confirmed in Murumba village. There are about eight poultry farms and 8,000 birds. We have given orders of culling those poultry birds," he added. Jammu and Kashmir and Chhattisgarh have also been put on alert amid the outbreak.
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