In wake of dead crows, birds being found in Uttarakhand, an alert has been sounded in the state after the samples of two dead crows sent for testing avian influenza returned positive. The samples were tested at the National Institute of High-Security Animal Disease in Bhopal.

With this, Uttarakhand joined nine other states — Delhi, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh — where confirmed cases of avian influenza have surfaced so far.

On Monday, Dehradun divisional forest office officials spotted 127 dead birds in different locations. What remained alarming was the sighting of one spotted dove in Rajaji Tiger Reserve, six Mynas (Acridotheres tristis) in Chidarwala, Rishikesh and four pigeons in AIIMS Rishikesh. While Bhandari Bagh in Dehradun witnessed mass mortality of crows with as many as 85 dead crows, forest department staff were kept busy in picking up the carcasses and safely burying them.

Similarly, two dead crows were found in a school. Besides, one dead crow each was spotted in Vikasnagar, Mohini Road, Race Course, Danda Dharampur, Laxmi Road, Laxman Chowk, and Masandawala areas.

According to sources, some cranes were also found dead in Dehradun on Monday.

Rajiv Bhartari, head of forest force, said, “The virus found in birds is H5N8 (influenza). This is different from the virulent strain found in Himachal Pradesh and is not zoonotic (transmissible from animals or insects to humans). We have sounded an alert across the state. We urge the people to not touch or discard any dead bird on their own.”
Meanwhile, the authorities at Dehradun Zoo have started sanitising the zoo to keep the deadly pathogenic infection at bay.

Despite several efforts, officials of the animal husbandry department remained unavailable to disclose whether any samples from state-based poultry farms have been sent for testing so far.

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