As the Delhi government on Monday said eight of the 109 samples submitted for testing were positive, avian influenza or bird flu has officially hit the national capital.
Senior government officials said the killing of live birds was immediately started at Mayur Vihar Phase 2 from 8am on Monday in Sanjay Lake Park. On Sunday, the park was designated a “alert zone” after 17 more ducks were found dead in the green area. Culling in more areas will follow soon, one of the officials said.
A second senior government official said, as an urgent precautionary measure, more parks are likely to be closed in the National Capital, orders for which will be given later in the day by the respective authorities.
The reports arrived from the National Institute of High Security Animal Disease, ICAR, Bhopal, on Monday morning.
“Eight of the 109 samples sent to various laboratories tested positive for avian influenza on Monday morning. We do not have to wait for more confirmed reports as the protocol comes into force the moment a single case is reported in the city,” said Dr Rakesh Singh of the animal husbandry department.
Singh said the eight study records were those of dead crows and ducks obtained from Sanjay Lake Park in Mayur Vihar Phase2, Dwarka Sector 9 and Mayur Vihar Phase3, which tested positive for bird flu, wholesale poultry markets were closed for 10 days amid concerns of the spread of avian influenza.
The decision came a day after the government of Delhi declared the closure of the 10-day wholesale poultry market in Ghazipur and prohibited the import of live birds into the capital as a protective measure to avoid the possible spread of bird flu.