Bird Flu Spreading Towards Madhya Pradesh

The bird flu virus has affected poultry in Burhanpur district of Madhya Pradesh, which is close to Jalgaon district of Maharashtra .

Poultry samples in 14 villages of Jalgaon have already been tested positive for the H5 avian influenza virus and it would only be a matter of time that these strains will be identified as H5N1 as the latest outbreak is in the same area as the previous one.

The Maharashtra government has promised financial assistance of Rs 80 crore to poultry farmers who were unable to sell broilers and eggs in Maharashtra after the outbreak of bird flu in Nawapur and Jalgaon area.

Indian authorities have opined that these new infections should not be treated as fresh cases as they were being reported from areas that had already been identified a s bird flu zone.

Health officials have also begun the now familiar exercise of culling birds within a 10km radius of the outbreak as well a s monitoring people for influenza like symptoms.

Fortunately the country has not reported any human cases of the deadly H5N1 virus attack.