New Delhi: Recently, India has declared itself free from the highly contagious disease H5N1 or bird flu even as it stressed the need for continued surveillance.
In a statement, Department of Animal Husbandry under the Agriculture Ministry said that India has declared itself free H5N1 from 5th September, 2016 and notified the same to the World Organization for Animal Health.
The Central Government, in a letter to Chief Secretaries of states, has emphasised the need for continued surveillance especially in areas visited by migratory birds and in the vulnerable areas bordering infected countries.
India had notified outbreak of Bird Flu on 9th May 2016 at Humnabad, Bidar district, Karnataka. The state government took necessary action in areas on the one-kilometer radius of the outbreak location including disinfection, clean-up and culling to contain the spread of Bird flu.
The ministry said that the state has shown no evidence of presence of the disease before the surveilance. There has been no further outbreak reported in the country thereafter.
Bird flu affects mainly the domestic poultry and also left the impact on the poultry business. The disease spreads from infected birds to other winged creatures through contact with respiratory secretions and nasal and also due to contamination of water and feed.
