Within a span of two months, health officials in Maharashtra, India, have already commenced scrutinizing thousands of citizens, to keep a check on avian flu symptoms, following the third breakout of bird flu within the country.
With seven fresh cases being registered for bird flu in and around Jalgaon district, within Maharashtra, health officials have chartered a record of denizens to be tested within a span of 10 km radius of the affected area. The plan also includes the culling of around two hundred thousands of birds, stretching across 200 villages within the area.
A high end official of Maharashtra's Animal Husbandry, has declared that they are sending out around 90 teams, specializing in animal welfare, to terminate or vaccinate poultry animals within the vicinity. Although reports of humans being affected have not yet reached the officials, it is a “better safe than sorry” situation that the officials are trying to tackle right now.
Further up northwards, towards Ichapur, comes a case of one sample, within a poultry farm, being tested positive for the deadly H5N1 virus. Consequences being, the slaughtering of over 6,600 birds in 23 villages spread across Madhya Pradesh.
The Ministry of Agriculture has also stated that deaths of poultry animals, due to the fatal virus were noticed mainly in backyard poultry, where the chances for a human to contract it are more.
Rajesh Rajora, Veterinary commissioner of MP, declared that the culling of birds will commence on Wednesday this month, in a bid to nip the plague in its bud.
The implications of this disease don't end here. People consuming chickens are wary, despite assurances by the government that they were safe to consume if properly cooked. As of now the virus doesn't pose a major threat to people as it isn't contagious. However, keeping in mind that more than 100 people have succumbed to the disease, experts are educating the populace about the fact that the virus might mutate and trigger epidemics, ultimately posing a threat to humanity.
