Srinagar: As several states of North India on Monday and Tuesday reported mass deaths of lakhs of birds, including poultry, Jammu & Kashmir is faced with another unfolding crisis.
Wildlife experts told Ziraat Times that the main cause of concern should be the deaths of thousands of migratory birds in Himachal Pradesh, J&K’s neighboring state, which shares migration of several species of birds with Jammu region as well as parts of Kashmir. A big cause of concern is also the mass deaths of poultry in Haryana, wherefrom J&K, mainly Kashmir region, imports poultry products. Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday banned sale and export of poultry in the state.
On Wednesday, Ziraat Times reached out to senior officials of Wildlife Department, Animal Husbandry Department and Sher-i-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences (SKUAST) for their advice to public in consuming poultry in these circumstances.
What government officials say
Dr Purnima Mittal, Director Animal Husbandry Department, Kashmir, told Ziraat Times that the department had formed district-level inspection committees and the District Poultry Officers had been asked to visit sites, including poultry units and test samples.
“As of now there is no indication of deaths of birds in Kashmir region, however, given the nature of this unfolding situation, we are taking no chances”, Dr Mittal told Ziraat Times.
Chief Wildlife Warden, J&K, Suresh Gupta, told Ziraat Times that the Department was in the process of collecting information and data about the potential impact in J&K, and that the same will be made available as soon as it was ready.
As snowfall has almost frozen most of Kashmir’s wetlands and lakes, Wildlife Warden, Kashmir, Rashid Naqash told Ziraat Times that “the Department had no information about any potential impact on migratory or other birds in the Kashmir region as of now.”
What scientists say
Poultry scientists reached to by Ziraat Times maintain that while precautions are fine, there was no need to shun using poultry products.
“Since there are, so far, no reports of any outbreak of bird flue in Kashmir valley there is also no evidence of human transmission of this disease. People can consume the poultry and poultry products without any fear. However, certain basic precautions such as proper cooking of poultry should be undertaken as the virus is sensitive to heat and as such normal temperature during cooking kills the virus. When handling raw poultry persons involved should wash their hands thoroughly with soap and hot water which is sufficient to kill this virus”, Prof Tufail Banday, head of the Veterinary Sciences Division of SKUAST-K told Ziraat Times.
Dr Parvaiz Ahmed Reshi, Sr. Assistant Professor, (Animal Science), SKUAST-K, while maintaining that “taking precautions was good but avoiding chicken completely is not advisable at all.”
“Having a culled and dressed chicken from market & deep frying directly as being largely practised by the customers in the valley is the first line of defence against any disease shared between birds & humans. Further, in times when Srinagar-Jammu highway is blocked due to heavy snowfall and we have no reported case of birds flu in the valley & when the Animal Husbandry Dept have not issued any advisory regarding the matter, we can safely say that. We must not feel unnecessarily scared & should continue to relish chicken before we are advised to stop it”, he added.
While wildlife experts cite the ongoing snow spell as a factor in delaying a potential transmission of infected birds to Kashmir valley, however, once skies clear and supplies restore on Srinagar-Jammu highway, a transmission of the flu to J&K has not been ruled out.
Poultry Producers Association standpoint
Meanwhile, President of Poultry Producers Association, Kashmir, Ghulam Muhammad, while denying of the existing of any bird flu in the country said that it was ” as a case of disinformation and that there was no such thing as bird flu among poultry or other birds in the country.”
Mass deaths of birds in Himachal Pradesh
Official reports indicate that in Himachal Pradesh, 27,000 migratory birds, mostly bar-headed geese, have been found dead in Pong Dam lake in Kangra district. In Haryana, over four lakh poultry birds died at farms in the Panchkula district in the past 10 days.
Alert in Jammu region
An alert has been sounded in Jammu region and the Wildlife Department has started collecting samples to check the health of winged guests flocking to J&K during winters.
Joint teams of the Animal Husbandry and Wildlife Departments on Tuesday visited the Gharana Wetland in the outskirts of Jammu and collected 25 bird droppings for testing to ascertain whether any of the birds are infected with avian influenza, officials said.
Situation in South India
Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh are among several states that sounded an alert to contain bird flu outbreak on Tuesday. The Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government declared bird flu as a state-specific disaster and issued high alerts in Kottayam and Alappuzha districts. A total of 1,700 ducks died in the farm situated in the Kottayam district, suggest reports.
The state officials are planning to cull nearly 40,000 birds to prevent the spread of the virus. Alappuzha district collector banned the use and trade of meat, eggs of ducks, and chicken in the nearby region.
In Madhya Pradesh, officials said that 155 dead crows have been found with the H5N8 strain in Indore since the pathogen was first detected in the city a week back.
What is bird flu?
Avian influenza is a disease caused by infection with avian flu Type A viruses. These viruses are found naturally in wild aquatic birds around the world and can infect domestic poultry as well as other bird and animal species. Though they don’t normally infect humans, avian flu viruses amongst humans have been reported.
Bird flu viruses are divided into low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) A viruses and highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A viruses based on their molecular characteristics and potency. While poultry infection caused by LPAI causes mild or no disease, HPAI leads to severe disease and high mortality. Both the viruses can spread very quickly among poultry.
While Avian influenza A viruses have been found in more than 100 species of wild birds worldwide, chickens, turkeys, ducks and other domesticated birds can get infected through contact with infected wild birds or other infected poultry, as well as surface contamination.
Bird flu in humans
Infected birds shed virus in their saliva, faeces and mucous. Human infections, though not common, happen when a sufficient quantity of bird flu virus enters a person’s nose, eyes or mouth, or through inhalation.
According to the existing scientific information, human to human spread of bird flu is very rare. However, experts caution that a mutated strain of bird flu can prove to be easily transmittable. That’s why careful monitoring and handling of any infection in humans is crucial.
Given the havoc caused by COVID-19, the danger that one of the variants of the bird flu can trigger a pandemic can no longer be ignored.