Lok Sabha Question No. 1158 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-09
Subject: Death of Birds due to Avian flu
Ministry: FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING
Asked by: Manoj Kishorbhai Kotak, Ramesh Bidhuri, Kuruva Gorantla Madhav, P.P. Chaudhary, Pratima Bhoumik, Achyutananda Samanta, (Dr.) Ram Shankar Katheria, Kotagiri Sridhar, Chinta Anuradha, Queen Oja, K. Subbarayan, Nayab Singh, Bharatiben Dhirubhai Shyal, Arjunlal Meena, Pocha Brahmananda Reddy, Reddeppa Nallakonda Gari, Shivkumar Chanabasappa Udasi, Shankar Lalwani

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY & DAIRYING DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL HUSBANDRY &DAIRYING LOK SABHA ADMITTED QUESTION NO. 1158 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.02.2021

## DEATH OF BIRDS DUE TO AVIAN FLU

1158.  SHRI  MANOJ  KOTAK,  SHRI  RAMEESH  BIDHURI,  SHRI  KURUVA  GORANTLA MADHAV, SHRI P.P.  CHAUDHARY,  MS.  PRATIMA  BHOUMIK,  SHRI  ACHYUTANANDA SAMANTA,  DR.RAM  SHANKAR  KATHERIA,  SHRI  SRIDHAR  KOTAGIRI,  SHRIMATI CHINTA  ANURADHA,  SHRIMATI  QUEEN  OJA,  SHRI  SUBBARAYAN  K,  SHRI  NAYAB SINGH, DR.BHARATIBEN DHIRUBHAI SHIYAL, SHRI ARJUNLAL MEENA, SHRI POCHA BRAHMANANDA REDDY, SHRI N. REDDEPPA, SHRI SHIVKUMAR C.UDASI AND SHRI SHANKAR LALWANI

Will the Minister of FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY &DAIRYING मत्स्यपाऱन , पशुपाऱन और डेयरी मंत्री be pleased to state: (a) the number of States affected by the Avian Influenza virus and the details including the cases reported and bird species affected in different States, State-wise including the States of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana;

(b) the details of measures taken by the Government to control the spread of flu as well as initiatives to increase awareness;

(c)  whether poultry farmers have faced losses in the country due to Bird flu and if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether efforts are being made to pay compensation to the poultry farmers whose birds are being culled to prevent spread of the disease;

(e)  whether  the  Government  is  taking  any  steps  to  protect  poultry  farmers  who  will  be affected by the plummeting prices of poultry across the country, if so the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefore;

(f) the details of the losses incurred due to Avian Influenza during the last five years and the estimated economic impact due to it in about 10 years;

(g)  whether  the  States,  including  the  State  of  Rajasthan,  were  granted  funds  under  the action Plan2015 or ASCAD scheme and if so, the details thereof and

(h) whether the Government is in the process of preparing any vaccination to fight the avian Influenza, if so, the details thereof and if not the reasons therefore?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY & DAIRYING (DR. SANJEEV KUMAR BALYAN)

- (a)  Avian  Influenza  among  poultry/wild  birds  have  been  confirmed  from  14  States  /  UTs namely  Kerala,  Haryana,  Madhya  Pradesh,  Maharashtra,  Chhattisgarh,  Gujarat,  Uttar

Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir. The State/UT-wise details are at Annexure-I.

- (b)  The measures taken by Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying measures taken by the Government to control the spread of flu as well as initiatives to increase awareness include -
- i. Advisories issued to States/UTs for increased surveillance and bio-security in poultry farms before onset of winter due to arrival of migratory birds during winter
- ii. Revision  of  extant  Action  Plan  for  Prevention,  Control  and  Containment  of  Avian Influenza
- iii. Guidelines issued to States /UTs for control and containment of bird flu as per the Action  Plan  which  include  increasing  surveillance  around  water  bodies,  live  bird markets, zoos, poultry farms, etc., proper disposal of carcass, strengthening of biosecurity  in  and  around  poultry  farms,  restricting  movement  of  poultry  from  infected zones and taking preparatory measures, viz. maintaining sufficient stock of PPE kits and accessories, disinfectants and other logistics required for control operations
- iv. Setting up central control room to monitor daily progress of preventive and control measures taken by States / UTs
- v. Deploying  Central  teams  to  visit  affected  States  for  monitoring  and  conducting epidemiological investigation
- vi. In  coordination  with  National  Disaster  Management  Authority,  meetings  held  with State/ UT Animal Husbandry and Health Departments to assess status of preparedness and providing required support
- vii. Requesting  States/UTs  to  ensure  effective  communication  and  coordination  with Health and Forest authorities for close vigilance of the disease status to avoid any chance of jumping of the disease into humans
- viii. States directed to identify their BSL-II labs for speeding up screening of infection in the state and ensure timely introduction of control mechanisms
- ix. Provision  of  funds  made  for  carrying  out  surveillance,  awareness  generation, procurement  of  Personal  Protective  Equipment  (PPE),  control  and  containment operations, compensating poultry farmers whose birds are culled or eggs and poultry feed destroyed by the State/UT
- x. Sensitization and awareness generation of poultry farmers and general public on Bird Flu through various social media platforms including Facebook /twitter etc.
- (c)  Yes, Sir. As per information received from the States/UTs affected by the present Avian Influenza outbreak, 95,181 poultry birds have died and 3,36,120 poultry birds have been culled so far.
- (d)  Yes  Sir.  TheDepartment,  under  Assistance  to  States  for  Control  of  Animal  Disease (ASCAD) component of Livestock Health & Disease Control (LH&DC) scheme supplements efforts of States/UTs Government for prevention, control and containment of animal diseases, including bird flu, by providing financial assistance (on a 50: 50 sharing basis based on extant rates) to the States /UTs. Compensation is paid to poultry farmers whose poultry birds, eggs and poultry feed are culled / destroyed as per Action Plan.
- (e)  The Department  has issued advisories /guidelines to States /UTs for increasing awareness not only for preparedness, control and containment of Avian Influenza but also for allaying fearof its spread, if well-cooked poultry eggs and meat are consumed.
- (f)  As  per  records  available,  outbreaks  of  Avian  Influenza  have  been  reported  in  Kerala, Karnataka, Odisha, Telangana, Manipur, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar, Haryana, Delhi  and  Daman

Administration during 2015 to 2020. A total of 2,00,368 birds (poultry/wild birds) have been reported to have died due to bird flu and a total of 11,32,865 poultry have been reported to have been culled during that period in the country.

- (g)  The  Department  has  released  Rs.160.11  crores  in  2020-21  to  States  /  UTs  under Assistance  to  States  for  Control  of  Animal  Diseases  (ASCAD),  a  component  under Livestock Health & Disease Control (LH&DC),  which includes Rs.10.41 crore to Rajasthan. The details of funds released States/UTs-wise are annexed as Annexure-II.
- (h)  No Sir. As per World Organization of Animal Health (OIE), vaccination is not considered the solution to the control of Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) if eradication is the desired result. Without the application of monitoring systems, strict biosecurity and depopulation in the face  of  infection,  there  is  possibility  that  these  viruses  could  become  endemic  in vaccinated  poultry populations. Long-term  circulation of the virus in  a  vaccinated population may result in both antigenic and genetic changes in the virus and this has been reported  to  have  occurred  in  several  countries.  With  the  long  term  use  of  vaccination either  the  disease  has  become  endemic  and  therefore  widespread,  or  the  infection  in affected animals is too difficult to detect. Accordingly, Government of India does not permit use of any vaccine against Avian Influenza in the country.

## Annexure-I

|   Sl. No. | Name of the State   | Cases reported in the districts                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        | Species affected                  |
|-----------|---------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
|         1 | Kerala              | Kottayam, Allapuzha                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    | Duck (poultry)                    |
|         2 | Rajasthan           | Baran, Kota, Jhalawar, Sawai Madhopur, Pali, Jaisalmer, Mohar, Sirohi, Dausa, Tonk, Bhilwara, Pratapgarh, Jaipur, Banswara, Chittorgarh, Karauli, Jodhpur, Jhunjhunu                                                                                                                   | Crow / Wild birds                 |
|         3 | Himachal Pradesh    | Kangra, Hamirpur, Sirmour                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              | Migratory birds/Crow              |
|         4 | Madhya Pradesh      | Ujjain, Neemuch, Indore, Shivpuri, Rajgarh, Agar, Shajapur, Vidisha, Guna, Dewas, Khandwa, Malwa, Bhopal, Mandsaur, Dhar, Khargone, Satna, Badwani, Hoshangabad, Mandla, Datiya, Rajgarh, Sagar, Ashoknagar, Burhanpur, Chhindwada, Dindori, Harda, Chhattarpur, Jhabua, Raisen, Harda | Poultry / Crows / Migratory birds |
|         5 | Gujarat             | Junagadh, Surat, Valsad, Vadodara, Dang, Narmada, Navsari, Bhavanagar, Gir Somnath                                                                                                                                                                                                     | Migratory birds / Poultry         |
|         6 | Haryana             | Panchkula, Ambala                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      | Poultry / Crows                   |
|         7 | Uttar Pradesh       | Kanpur, Etah, Kheri, Unnao                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             | Wild birds / Poultry              |
|         8 | Maharashtra         | Mumbai, Thane, Parbhani, Dapoli, Beed, Yavatmal, Ahmednagar, Nanded, Latur, Ahmednagar, Pune, Solapur, Raigad, Satara, Nagpur, Gadchiroli, Wardha, Gondia, Hingoli, Buldhana, Akola, Nashik, Buldhana, Dhule, Nandurbar                                                                | Poultry / Crows / Migratory birds |
|         9 | Delhi               | Central Park and Sanjay Jheel, Patparganj, DDA park Rohini, Najafgarh; National Zoological park, Red Fort, DDA Park, Hastsal village, Jamia Hamdard university                                                                                                                         | Duck (wild) / Crows /Wild birds   |
|        10 | Chhattisgarh        | Balod, Dhamtari, Bastar, Dantewada                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     | Poultry / Crows                   |
|        11 | Uttarakhand         | Kotdwar, Dehradun, Haridwar, PauriGarhwal, Tehri Garhwal, Rudraprayag                                                                                                                                                                                                                  | Crows                             |
|        12 | Punjab              | Rupnagar, SAS Nagar                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    | Poultry / Wild birds              |
|        13 | Jammu & Kashmir     | Kulgam, Anantnag, Budgam, Pulwama, Baramulla, Poonch, Udhampur                                                                                                                                                                                                                         | Crows /Poultry                    |
|        14 | Bihar               | Paschim Champaran                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      | Crows                             |

| S.No.   | Name of State     |   Amount Released under ASCAD during 2020-21 (as on 08.02.2021) in Rs. lakh |
|---------|-------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1       | Andhra Pradesh    |                                                                     2048.59 |
| 2       | Arunachal Pradesh |                                                                      414.02 |
| 3       | Chhattisgarh      |                                                                      486.25 |
| 4       | Haryana           |                                                                      694.91 |
| 5       | Himachal Pradesh  |                                                                       64.78 |
| 6       | Jammu & Kashmir   |                                                                     1724.58 |
| 7       | Karnataka         |                                                                     2544.48 |
| 8       | Manipur           |                                                                      424.86 |
| 9       | Rajasthan         |                                                                     1041.24 |
| 10      | Tamil Nadu        |                                                                       80.91 |
| 11      | Uttarakhand       |                                                                       30.62 |
| 12      | Uttar Pradesh     |                                                                     6313.98 |
| 13      | West Bengal       |                                                                      141.45 |
|         | TOTAL             |                                                                    16010.7  |