UPDATED: As I suspected, media reports on Sunday of `8 infected' individuals have turned out to have been greatly exaggerated. According to a follow up in the Times of India (Hotwar farm docs, staff test negative for bird flu), none were actually infected.
As always, Caveat Lector.
#18,031
Government websites in India are often slow to update, and many of their internal links seem to lead to old data, or sometimes none at all (see photo below).
Thus far, other than finding a report posted by ANI News on Twitter/X (see below) about responding to a bird flu outbreak in Ranchi, I've found little official.
(Translation)
District Animal Husbandry Office, Ranchi Office OrderOrder No. 30 dated 23/4/2As a result of confirmation of HSNI Avian Influenza in the samples of poultry of Regional Poultry Farm, Hotwar, Ranchi at ICAR-NIHSAD Bhopal on 22.04.2024, today on 23.04.2024, Dr. Abhijeet Mitra, Animal Husbandry Commissioner, Animal Husbandry and Dairy In the sequence of Video Conferencing by the Department of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India, Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi and in the light of the instructions given by the Joint Director, Poultry, Animal Husbandry, Jharkhand, Roche, letter number 519 dated 23.04.2024
Under the action plan, by forming RRT Team, the work of culling and disposal of the remaining poultry of Regional Poultry Farm Hotwar, Ranchi through scientific method and then complete cleaning and disinfection of the infected area through scientific method is to be done.
In the light of the above action plan, a survey related to poultry farming within a radius of 01 kilometer from the Epic center is to be conducted with the help of the district administration so that a decision can be taken quickly at the administrative level for culling of these poultry. Also, by making a map of the area within a radius of 10 kilometers from the Epic center and marking it as Surveillance Zone, the following members of the Rapid Response Team have been instructed to carry out intensive monitoring of Avian Influenza in this area by 08 am on 24.04.2024. Culling from :00. Cleaning and Disinfection is deputed until the work is completed.
(Continue . . . )
Jharkhand ranks 18th (out of 33) Indian states in poultry production, but has been the site of avian flu outbreaks in the past (see here, here, and here). Officially India has only reported 1 human infection with H5N1 (in 2021), but there have been questions about their surveillance, testing, and reporting over the years.
Overnight nearly every major Indian media outlet has reported that between 5 and 7 people are in quarantine due to this outbreak, although it isn't clear what - if any - symptoms they are showing or whether they have tested positive for the virus.
Typical of these reports is the following from the Times of India:
Bird flu outbreak in Jharkhand; 2 doctors, 6 others quarantined in Ranchi
TOI City Desk / TIMESOFINDIA.COM / Updated: Apr 28, 2024, 10:30 IST
According to this report, `Officials have reported that the JSIA government building has been converted into a ward for bird flu.' While this article refers to `infected people' it isn't clear on what basis that determination was made.
You'll find similar accounts at:
Jharkhand: Two Doctors, Six Others Quarantined Amid Bird Flu Outbreak in Ranchi
Quarantine Measures Implemented Amid Bird Flu Outbreak in Ranchi, Jharkhand
And FluTrackers has a thread of reports on this event, which should be updated throughout the day.
