NEW DELHI, Jan 22: The Centre today said bird flu cases in poultry birds have been confirmed in a few more districts of Uttarakhand and Gujarat.
So far, avian influenza in poultry has been confirmed in nine States — Kerala, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.
In a statement, the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying said bird flu or Avian Influenza has been confirmed in poultry samples from Almora (R K Pura, Hawalbagh) district of Uttarakhand as well as in Somnath (Dolasa, Kodinar) district of Gujarat.
The disease has also been confirmed in crow in Kulgam, Anantnag, Budgam and Pulwama districts of Jammu and Kashmir, while in Kaliji Pheasant bird in Tehri range of Uttarakhand.
However, crow samples submitted from Alwar district of Rajasthan have been found negative for Avian Influenza.
According to the Ministry, the control and containment operations (cleaning and disinfection) are going on in the affected epicentres of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Kerala.
The Government is taking continuous efforts to generate awareness about Avian through various platforms, including Twitter, Facebook handles, it added.
In India, bird flu is spread mainly by migratory birds coming into the country during winters – between September and March. (PTI)