18.02.2012

Crows are dying in Bihar because of avian influenza H5N1. This was revealed in the report of the Bhopal-based High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL), officials said.
The HSADL has confirmed in its report that avian influenza was killing the crows in Gaya district. After the confirmation, the Bihar government has directed the animal husbandary department officials to begin necessary measures to deal with the situation.
According to reports, crows are continuing to die across the state. Hundreds of crows have died in Bihar in the last one and a half months, particularly in Gaya, Banka, Nawada, Jamui, Bhagalpur, Munger and Aurangabad districts. The Bihar Animal Husbandry Department (AHD) has sounded an alert and has asked people not to touch the dead crows. It has issued advertisements in local dailies asking people to keep away from the dead birds and inform the administration when they spot any.
Last month, neighbouring Jharkhand had reported similar mass deaths of crows.

In a number of cases, such as in Japan, infected crows detected during targeted surveillance were believed to have been infected by exposure to diseased poultry.