Bird flu: 238 more birds die in Maharashtra, samples sent for testing

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 13 : A total of 238 more birds died in various districts of Maharashtra on Wednesday, including poultry birds and crows.
The State Animal Husbandry Commissioner office said in a press release that samples of all the birds have been sent for testing and a report on the same is expected in next 48 to 72 hours. The districts where these birds are found dead are Latur, Beed, Akola, Yavatmal, Ahmednagar, Pune, Bhandara and Solapur.
So far, 2,096 deaths of birds have been reported across Maharashtra since January 8.
The state Animal Husbandry Department said that reports of earlier samples have confirmed H5N1 strain of bird flu in birds that died at Mumbai, Ghodbander (Thane), Dapoli, Murumba (Parbhani), however, samples from birds that died in Beed have confirmed H5N8 strain of bird flu.
The areas where birds have died has been declared infected area and preventive measures are being taken. Meanwhile, cases of avian influenza have been confirmed in 10 states across the country, as on Wednesday.