New Delhi (ISJ) ? A decade after the first major outbreak of bird flu or Avian Influenza (H5N1), India on Wednesday (Sept 14) declared itself free from the disease that affects poultry. Federal Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ministry said in a statement, the last notified outbreak of bird flu was in May this year in Bidar district of Karnataka and ?there has been no further outbreak? after that.
The first major outbreak of H5N1 virus in India was in 2006 in Nandurbar district of Maharashtra, where tens of thousands of birds were dead or culled following the outbreak to control spread of the virus.
New Delhi has now notified to OIE, the world organisation for animal health, declaring itself free from Avian Influenza.
In a letter to the State Chief Secretaries, the federal government has emphasized the need for continued surveillance especially in vulnerable areas bordering infected countries and in areas visited by migratory birds.
