Bird flu: Samples of 1,000 chickens test positive for avian influenza in Himachal Pradesh's Solan

Shimla: The samples of the dead poultry birds found dumped in Himachal Pradesh’s Solan district earlier this month have tested positive for bird flu, state animal husbandry minister Virender Kanwar said on Monday. In a statement, Kanwar stated that a Bhopal laboratory detected the H5N8 strain of Avian Influenza in the dead birds which were found dumped beside the Chandigarh-Solan highway a few weeks ago. The same strain of the bird flu which has been detected in poultry in the neighbouring state of Haryana and in other parts of the country, but different from the H5N1 strain, which was detected among migratory water birds at Pong wetland in Kangra. Around 1,000 dead chickens were found dumped at various places along the highway in Solan district between 6 and 9 January. Their carcasses were disposed of with disinfection protocol and their samples were sent for testing. The animal husbandry minister said that the ban on the supply of poultry birds and products from other states into Himachal Pradesh was now extended for another week. Meanwhile, the death of 21 migratory birds was reported from the wetland on Monday. The death toll of migratory birds at Pong is now 4,936, wildlife officials said.