Bird flu: 6 crows found dead, Uttarakhand sets up control room, toll free number

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], January 7 : With rising cases of deaths of birds in Uttarakhand, the state has set up a control room to monitor the situation in the state and issued a toll-free number where people can provide updates on the health status of poultry or birds.
The control room by the state's Animal Husbandry Department was established after the Centre on Wednesday confirmed cases of Avian Influenza from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala.
The department set up a control room at the directorate level and has appealed to people to provide information on the toll-free number (18001208862) on the death of birds and poultry in the state.
Dr K K Joshi, Director of Animal Husbandry Department told ANI: "Six crows have been found dead in two separate incidents in Dehradun SSP office premises and Mothrovala firing range."
He said that a team from the Animal Husbandry Department has collected and sent samples of the carcasses from both places to the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal for testing.
Dr K K Joshi further said that till now no symptoms of bird flu has been detected in Uttarakhand but officials are on alert.
The state animal husbandry department has also issued guidelines for monitoring and controlling the spread of bird flu in the state
Avian influenza refers to the disease caused by infection with avian (bird) influenza (flu) Type A viruses. These viruses occur naturally among wild aquatic birds worldwide and can infect domestic poultry and other bird and animal species.
The ministry informed this after the samples from these states were tested positive for Avian Influenza Virus by Indian Council of Agricultural Research -National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases (ICAR-NIHSAD).