4 min readAhmedabadMay 4, 2026 05:54 AM IST
First published on: May 4, 2026 at 05:53 AM IST
The Gujarat government carried out surveillance of poultry farms in Tapi district for the third day on Sunday following chickens in neighbouring Maharashtra tested positive for avian influenza or bird flu, leading to a large-scale culling of birds across the border.
Avian influenza is an infectious viral illness caused by Type A viruses that primarily affect wild aquatic birds and poultry, causing large-scale die-offs. The last time this zoonotic epidemic hit the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra was in 2021.
Dr Kanti M Damor, Regional Joint Director of the Animal Husbandry Department for South Gujarat told The Indian Express, “While there have not been any symptoms or poultry deaths due to bird flu in Gujarat as of now, we started surveillance activities from May 1 and several teams of veterinarians are on the ground in Tapi district, conducting checks at all poultry farms, with coordination with the district administration.”
The Indian Express on May 3 reported that the Maharashtra government has decided to cull over 1.4 lakh birds in Navapur of Nandurbar district to prevent a larger outbreak. Navapur is only 3.8 km from Uchchhal taluka of Gujarat’s Tapi district, just outside the 3-km containment zone mandated during such epidemics.
A veterinary official on the ground in Tapi told The Indian Express, “We have completed a round of surveillance and a specialised team of veterinarians from Surat have collected samples from the birds for testing. We have not seen any large-scale mortality so far, which would indicate the presence of bird flu. But, we are awaiting the results of tests.”
The veterinary official said, “Apart from the three poultry farms, we are also surveying 12 villages in a 10-km radius in Uchchhal taluka for backyard poultry, using four teams including veterinarians and livestock inspectors.”
Biggest poultry epicentre is on state border
Uchchhal is the biggest centre of poultry rearing in Gujarat and has at three major farms of which one is empty and two are currently operational, confirmed officials of the Animal Husbandry Department.
While National Poultry Farm, which is closest to the Maharashtra border, has been closed since a couple of months and does not have any birds, the other two major poultry farms, Shabana Poultry Farm with 7,000 birds, and Yakub & Co Poultry and Trading with 31,000 birds are located in Manekpur village, about 5 km from Navapur in Maharashtra.
Bird flu had hit these simultaneous centres of Navapur (Maharashtra) and Uchchhal (Gujarat) during the previous outbreaks – in 2006 and 2021.
Poultry samples sent to Bhopal for testing
The blood samples of 53 birds were sent to the ICAR-National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on May 1. However, since there is a turnaround time of about 4-5 days for the Gujarat government to get the results, officials are playing the waiting game, while getting ready for any eventuality.
Notably, the samples of the birds have to be sent to Bhopal because Gujarat doesn’t have an Animal Bio-Safety Level 4 (ABSL-4) facility where these tests can be conducted. However, one is currently under construction in Gandhinagar, where testing of deadly zoonotic diseases will be possible in the coming years. Back in 2021 and 2006 too, samples had to be sent to Bhopal for confirmation.
What happened in the last outbreak?
During the last outbreak in 2021, a total of 17,362 birds from major farms and 181 backyard chickens had been culled in Tapi district. The Gujarat government had also destroyed 52,152 eggs and 24,810 kg of poultry feed between February 16 and 18, 2021.
Avian influenza is an infectious viral illness caused by Type A viruses that primarily affect wild aquatic birds and poultry, causing large-scale die-offs. 
Share
