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Over 450 chickens in a poultry farm were culled following an outbreak of Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), or bird flu, in Nanded district of Maharashtra. The incident came to light after 20 poultry chickens died in Mauje Kiwala village in Loha taluka of the district on January 20, 2025.
The samples of the dead birds were sent to the Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Aundh in Pune and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research-National Institute of High Security Animal Disease (NIHSAD) in Bhopal for analysis.
The officials confirmed on January 25 that the samples tested positive for avian influenza (H5N1), following which a 10 km radius has been declared as an ‘alert zone’ to prevent the spread of the disease.
Sale or transportion of poultry has been prohibited within a five km radius, a statement by the animal husbandry department said.
Some 456 chickens from different poultry farms were culled to containt the spread of the disease, the officials said. This is the third outbreak of the disease within 15 days in the state and fourth in the country.
On January 13, Latur district in Maharashtra reported outbreak of bird flu after nearly 60 crows died due to the disease.
On January 5, three tigers and a leopard were reported dead after contracting HPAI H5N1 virus at the Balasaheb Thackeray Gorewada International Zoological Park in Nagpur.
As per the Food and Agriculture Organization, 511 HPAI outbreaks in animals have been officially reported worldwide up until December 27, 2024, in five geographic regions caused by H5Nx (50), H5N1 (452) and H5N5 (9).
