Another 38 migratory birds found dead in Pong Dam sanctuary

Thirty-eight migratory waterbirds were found dead in the Pong Dam Lake wildlife sanctuary on Friday, taking the total death toll of migratory birds since the outbreak of bird flu to 4,874, wildlife officials said.

Chief Wildlife Warden said that the mortality among migratory and other birds has seen a substantial decrease in the last three days.

“The rapid response teams of the wildlife wing continue to search, collect and dispose of dead birds, and disinfect the infected areas,” she said.

Dead migratory birds were first reported from the Pong Dam Lake on December 28. Since then, carcasses of the birds are being found in large numbers in and around the vast reservoir each day. On January 4, samples of some of the birds had tested positive for H5N1 avian influenza.

Bird flu has also been detected among poultry birds in neighbouring Haryana and Punjab, and among domestic or other birds in various parts of the country. So far, however, Himachal is the only state which has reported the H5N1 avian influenza, a strain of the virus which is known to infect humans as well.