Maharashtra has become the eighth state to confirm bird flu amid nationwide efforts to contain the spread.
Three days ago, 800 chickens in Murumba village died due to bird flu. District administration had sent blood samples of dead chickens to National Laboratory. Reports confirm that the chickens died of bird flu, said Deepak Mughlikar, District Collector, Parbhani.
All birds in poultry farms within one-kilometer radius of Muramba village, will be culled. Sale & purchase of birds within a 10-km radius is suspended. All people in the village are being tested for the virus & a medical team is present, he added.
Parbhani is the epicenter. Parbhani is about 500 km from Maharashtra capital Mumbai.
There are about eight poultry farms and 8,000 birds. We have given orders of culling those poultry birds," he added.
Bird flu or Avian Influenza outbreak has been confirmed in Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh, including Maharashtra.