Double Whammy In India: Bird flu Comes Knocking In Times Of Lockdown

0

Two localities in Patna have been tested positive for bird flu.

Thousands birds have been culled in Kerala. A patient has also been confirmed positive for swine flu in Bihar. Several died from Monkey fever. What’s more for India?

bird flu outbreaks in India during the Corona lockdown, india avian influenza, bird flu india coronavirus outbreak
bird flu outbreaks in India during the Corona lockdown. Picture: PTI

While 1.3 billion people went under “total lockdown” for 21 days to combat the spread of the contagion in India, several states are reporting avian influenza in parallel.

Samples in Bihar and Kerala have tested positive for H5N1 virus. A patient has also been confirmed positive for swine flu in Bihar.

In Bihar, samples of dead crows were sent to the National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) at Bhopal, where the results confirmed the worst fears.

In Kerala, the state government has decided to destroy the disease at the source and mass culling have already started since a week to contain a possible outbreak.

What is Bird flu?

Avian influenza A (H5N1) is contagious among birds and can be fatal. There have been instances of human beings getting infected with the virus:

In most of the cases, people having direct or close contact with H5N1-infected poultry or H5N1-contaminated surfaces contracted the disease.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu is regarded as highly pathogenic and can also cause disease and death in humans.

“However, most victims contract the disease through close contact with affected birds.

Some are even giving gratis chicken… Pretty weird, no?

According to local medias, the widespread fear around the possible animal transmission of C19 coupled with numerous cases of bird flu, has led to a meltdown in the Indian poultry industry, with a steep decline in prices over the last two months.

People need to understand that the current pandemic is not a bird flu and is not transmitted by poultry meat or eggs.

I hope India is strong enough to protect its people and its chickens… More avian flu news on Strange Sounds and Steve Quayle. [India Today, VOA News, Tribune India]

Follow us: Facebook and Twitter. By the way you can also support us on PaypalPlease and thank you!

Leave a reply

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.