Centre says human-to-human transmission of H5N1 virus is uncommon, but a national joint outbreak response team has been deployed to undertake an epidemiological investigation.
Three tigers and a leopard had died at the Balasaheb Thackeray Gorewada Zoological Park late December. That they succumbed to bird flu was confirmed last week.
Following fresh outbreak in Jharkhand, govt says avian influenza situation under control. Experts emphasise urgency of mammal surveillance to prevent potential transmission to humans.
Genome sequencing from a patient in Texas showed that the flu was caused by the highly pathogenic avian influenza A. Experts say it’s too soon to make predictions but advise caution.
Nellore district collector Hari Narayan has convened an emergency meeting with animal husbandry department officials. After the meeting, he instructed all the officials to take necessary steps to control the spread of bird flu.
Earlier, the government declared that the country was H5N1 free, almost a year after starting a bird vaccination campaign in high-risk areas to prevent its spread.
This is the game every nation is now learning to play. Some are finding new allies or seeing value among nations where they’d seen marginal interest. The starkest example is India & Europe.
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