Bird flu cases reported in 10 states; govt confirms infections in tiger, lion, leopard, and cats
As of July 2025, bird flu has affected 10 Indian states, with 41 cases reported this year. The government is implementing the National Action Plan, boosting preparedness, and providing financial support to control the outbreaks. Sporadic cases in non-avian species have also been confirmed, prompting coordinated efforts to minimize the spread and protect animal and public health.
Agencies So far, 41 cases have been recorded this year, compared to 49 in 2024. Cases of Avian Influenza, commonly known as bird flu, have been reported in 10 Indian states as of July 24, 2025, the government informed on Wednesday. Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Prof. S.P. Singh Baghel, in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on July 30, revealed that bird flu outbreaks in domestic poultry have been reported from Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Odisha. So far, 41 cases have been recorded this year, compared to 49 in 2024. The highest number of cases in the last five years was in 2021, with 118 reported incidents. Interestingly, the government has also confirmed sporadic cases of bird flu in non-avian species, including tiger, lion, leopard, jungle cat, and domestic cat, indicating a broader host range than typically expected. To address the threat, the government has undertaken multiple initiatives aimed at prevention, surveillance, and rapid response:
The National Action Plan for Prevention, Control, and Containment of Avian Influenza (Revised 2021) outlines protocols for preparedness, identification, culling, movement restrictions, and biosecurity measures. It also calls for active surveillance in poultry farms, live bird markets, and migratory bird habitats.
outlines protocols for preparedness, identification, culling, movement restrictions, and biosecurity measures. It also calls for active surveillance in poultry farms, live bird markets, and migratory bird habitats. Advisories have been issued to all States and UTs to boost preparedness ahead of the winter migratory bird season, including strengthening coordination with wildlife and health departments under the 'One Health' approach, enforcing strict biosecurity in poultry farms, and forming Rapid Response Teams (RRTs).
to boost preparedness ahead of the winter migratory bird season, including strengthening coordination with wildlife and health departments under the 'One Health' approach, enforcing strict biosecurity in poultry farms, and forming Rapid Response Teams (RRTs). The Poultry Disease Action Plan, 2024 has been launched to promote a disease-free poultry sector with biosecurity guidelines tailored for both backyard and commercial farms.
has been launched to promote a disease-free poultry sector with biosecurity guidelines tailored for both backyard and commercial farms. Under the Assistance to States for Control of Animal Disease (ASCAD) scheme, financial support is provided for compensating poultry owners for bird culling, strengthening laboratories, research, training, and public awareness.
scheme, financial support is provided for compensating poultry owners for bird culling, strengthening laboratories, research, training, and public awareness. A National Joint Outbreak Response Team (NJORT) , comprising officials from key agencies like the Department of Animal Husbandry, National Centre for Disease Control, ICMR, and ICAR, has been set up to investigate and contain outbreaks.
, comprising officials from key agencies like the Department of Animal Husbandry, National Centre for Disease Control, ICMR, and ICAR, has been set up to investigate and contain outbreaks. To ensure continuity in poultry trade during localized outbreaks, the government is enabling the creation of avian influenza-free compartments for poultry products, in line with international (WOAH) guidelines.
for poultry products, in line with international (WOAH) guidelines. The use of the Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H9N2) vaccine , developed using an indigenous seed strain, has been approved to aid disease prevention.
, developed using an indigenous seed strain, has been approved to aid disease prevention. An AI-powered early warning system, developed under the National Animal Disease Referral Expert System (NADRES_v2) by ICAR-NIVEDI, now offers disease forecasts up to two months in advance to help with early preparedness and response. The minister emphasized that these coordinated efforts are crucial to minimizing the spread of Avian Influenza and protecting both animal and public health.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
36 minutes ago
- Time of India
Bengaluru's deep-tech startup proposes 'quantum' leap in cancer care
A Bengaluru-based bootstrapped deep-tech startup is leveraging quantum technology to detect cellular damage even before the symptoms appear in just hours, possibly changing the game for cancer care One among the 20-odd exhibitors at the recently concluded Quantum India Bengaluru Summit, Quantum Biosciences Private Limited's "predictive tech" uses quantum biosensor to detect unique 'magnetic fingerprints' of oxidative stress in cells, allowing detection of tissue his wife was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo radiation therapy, Ravi Puvvala, Managing Director of Quantum Biosciences, who was earlier developing sensors for automotive industry, said he started exploring the possibility of using sensors to predict radiation-induced cardiotoxicity before irreversible damage."Radiation therapy is essential for treating cancer. But it kills not only the cancerous cells, also the good ones. This leads to long-term complications such as fatigue, cognitive decline, organ dysfunction and secondary cancers. It also potentially induces a heart disease or fibrosis. I watched my wife suffer because of some of these side effects," Puvvala told diagnostic tools, such as MRI, PET scans and blood biomarkers only detect harm after significant damage has already occurred, said Puvvala."So, I wanted to use my experience in building sensors, and, you know, explore technology, understand how to optimise this particular problem," added has been building technologies for the last 15 years, Puvvala took a quantum leap when he partnered with the Netherlands-based QT Sense, led by another Indian, Deepak Veeragowda. QT Sense was formed to take forward the 15 years of academic research done in this area at the University of Sense's Quantum Nuova is a platform technology built for detecting quantum-level phenomena like subcellular free radicals and magnetic biomarkers."For the last two years, we have been researching various potential technologies for early stage diagnostics. We looked at classical sensors and quantum sensors , and we started quantum biosensors to leverage the potential of quantum sensors," said said while quantum biosensors can tell us that there exists a certain amount of stress at the subcellular level, the next step would be to understand how to read them."Further research is needed on how to map the cellular stress to a potential biomarker, only then we can say, okay, we made the prognosis," added the first edition of the Quantum India Bengaluru Summit, Puvvala reached out to researchers and other key stakeholders - including the government of Karnataka, academic institutions, acute care clinicians, pharmaceutical companies and hospitals -- exploring this idea."To build this technology, we need a whole village. We need the engineering team, we need the medical team, and we need, you know, people like us, who can put all this together," said to him, they still need to do a lot of validation with respect to the sub cellular detection."For the first time we're able to actually go inside the cell and measure all kinds of things. But now we need to be able to make sense of what these measurements mean through clinical tests. So we need to conduct tests, and we need to be able to come up with a diagnostic mechanism," said this end, Puvvala said they would be spending the next two years working with various hospitals, both in India and abroad."We want to partner with cancer centres particularly, so we could get the necessary data," said Biosciences is at present incubating its foundational research capabilities at Center for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), an initiative of Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India and at Center for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE) in Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, he added."We are also talking to other ecosystem leaders and state-level innovation programs to co-develop a shared infrastructure that bridges deep-science research with clinical applications," said they go past the "very base-level mechanism", the technology, said Puvvala, would benefit not only oncology, but also nephrology, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative could even help India's most basic struggle in providing health care, he added."One of the things I've heard at the conference is that most hospitals are overcrowded because the primary health care and the critical health care have been combined into one. The quantum biosensor could, you know, reduce the primary health care overload, by precisely identifying those cases that need critical care at a considerably lesser time," said Puvvala.
Economic Times
38 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Bengaluru's deep-tech startup proposes 'quantum' leap in cancer care
Agencies A Bengaluru-based bootstrapped deep-tech startup is leveraging quantum technology to detect cellular damage even before the symptoms appear in just hours, possibly changing the game for cancer care. One among the 20-odd exhibitors at the recently concluded Quantum India Bengaluru Summit, Quantum Biosciences Private Limited's "predictive tech" uses quantum biosensor to detect unique 'magnetic fingerprints' of oxidative stress in cells, allowing detection of tissue injury. When his wife was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo radiation therapy, Ravi Puvvala, Managing Director of Quantum Biosciences, who was earlier developing sensors for automotive industry, said he started exploring the possibility of using sensors to predict radiation-induced cardiotoxicity before irreversible damage. "Radiation therapy is essential for treating cancer. But it kills not only the cancerous cells, also the good ones. This leads to long-term complications such as fatigue, cognitive decline, organ dysfunction and secondary cancers. It also potentially induces a heart disease or fibrosis. I watched my wife suffer because of some of these side effects," Puvvala told PTI. Existing diagnostic tools, such as MRI, PET scans and blood biomarkers only detect harm after significant damage has already occurred, said Puvvala. "So, I wanted to use my experience in building sensors, and, you know, explore technology, understand how to optimise this particular problem," added Puvvala. He has been building technologies for the last 15 years, Puvvala said. Things took a quantum leap when he partnered with the Netherlands-based QT Sense, led by another Indian, Deepak Veeragowda. QT Sense was formed to take forward the 15 years of academic research done in this area at the University of Groningen. QT Sense's Quantum Nuova is a platform technology built for detecting quantum-level phenomena like subcellular free radicals and magnetic biomarkers. "For the last two years, we have been researching various potential technologies for early stage diagnostics. We looked at classical sensors and quantum sensors, and we started quantum biosensors to leverage the potential of quantum sensors," said Puvvala. Puvvala said while quantum biosensors can tell us that there exists a certain amount of stress at the subcellular level, the next step would be to understand how to read them. "Further research is needed on how to map the cellular stress to a potential biomarker, only then we can say, okay, we made the prognosis," added Puvvala. At the first edition of the Quantum India Bengaluru Summit, Puvvala reached out to researchers and other key stakeholders - including the government of Karnataka, academic institutions, acute care clinicians, pharmaceutical companies and hospitals -- exploring this idea. "To build this technology, we need a whole village. We need the engineering team, we need the medical team, and we need, you know, people like us, who can put all this together," said Puvvala. According to him, they still need to do a lot of validation with respect to the sub cellular detection. "For the first time we're able to actually go inside the cell and measure all kinds of things. But now we need to be able to make sense of what these measurements mean through clinical tests. So we need to conduct tests, and we need to be able to come up with a diagnostic mechanism," said Puvvala. To this end, Puvvala said they would be spending the next two years working with various hospitals, both in India and abroad. "We want to partner with cancer centres particularly, so we could get the necessary data," said Puvvala. Quantum Biosciences is at present incubating its foundational research capabilities at Center for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), an initiative of Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India and at Center for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE) in Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, he added. "We are also talking to other ecosystem leaders and state-level innovation programs to co-develop a shared infrastructure that bridges deep-science research with clinical applications," said Puvvala. When they go past the "very base-level mechanism", the technology, said Puvvala, would benefit not only oncology, but also nephrology, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. It could even help India's most basic struggle in providing health care, he added. "One of the things I've heard at the conference is that most hospitals are overcrowded because the primary health care and the critical health care have been combined into one. The quantum biosensor could, you know, reduce the primary health care overload, by precisely identifying those cases that need critical care at a considerably lesser time," said Puvvala. Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea. Zomato delivered, but did the other listed unicorns? US tariff hike to hit Indian exports, may push RBI towards rate cuts Will TCS layoffs open the floodgates of mass firing at Indian IT firms? Indian IT firms never reveal the truth hiding behind 'strong' deal wins Is Bajaj Finance facing its HDFC Bank moment? Tata Motors' INR38k crore Iveco buy: Factors that can make investors nervous Stock Radar: Strides Pharma stock hits fresh 52-week high in July; will the rally continue in August? F&O Radar| Deploy Short Strangle in Nifty to gain from Theta decay For investors who can think beyond Trump: 5 large-cap stocks with an upside potential of up to 36%
The Print
an hour ago
- The Print
Pitched as ‘educational revolution' in 2022, why the ‘MBBS in Hindi' initiative has seen few takers
Launching the MBBS course in Hindi in Bhopal on 16 October 2022, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said that it was in line with the National Education Policy 2020, which emphasised imparting primary, technical and medical education in students' mother tongues. The trigger: A lukewarm response to an initiative started in 2022 through which the course was launched in Hindi in MP, a first anywhere in the country. New Delhi: Last month, the Madhya Pradesh government announced that a rebate of 50 percent in examination fee will be offered to MBBS students opting to write the annual tests in Hindi. Those topping the test in the language will also be given cash awards, with the highest reward set at Rs 2 lakh. Calling it an 'educational revolution' aimed at restoring the pride of 'our languages', Shah had dedicated text books for MBBS first year, translated to Hindi from English and procured at a cost of Rs 10 crore. Over the next two years, state governments in at least four other states, including neighbouring Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, also announced plans to replicate the project. However, while some students, enthused by the idea of studying medicine in the language they are most comfortable with, picked the textbooks—mostly kept in college libraries following supplies by publishers such as J.P. Publication and Elsevier—not a single student in any of these states so far has written the MBBS examination in Hindi. The reason for this, according to students, is the fear that studying medicine in the local language may limit their potential and career prospects, which demand English proficiency. 'I come from a small town and though I went to an English medium school, I am not very comfortable in the language,' a second-year MBBS student at Gandhi Medical College in Bhopal and a resident of Rewa, who did not wish to be named, told ThePrint. The idea of studying medicine in Hindi seemed good initially, she said. 'That's because when we get into pursuing the course, there are two big challenges—learning medicine and a language that is not our first language. The new textbooks, which are in Hinglish—interspersed with technical words in English with grammar in Hindi—made life easy, at least during the initial few months. 'Yet, when I assessed whether I should opt for the first year examination in Hindi, there was not much confusion around the decision because I know that evidence-based medicine is universal and it is better to follow it in a universal language,' the second year-MBBS student remarked. According to officials in MP Medical Science University, while all 18 government medical colleges under it have ensured that Hindi textbooks till 3rd year of MBBS are available for those interested, only about 10-15 percent of the students opted for the book. Also, there are no takers for the examinations in Hindi. 'We are trying to push for it but students do not seem to be finding it useful from the career perspective,' said a senior official in the university, requesting anonymity. ThePrint reached out to Rajendra Shukla, deputy chief minister and state health minister over the phone. This report will be updated if and when a reply is received. In other states too, the initiative has met a similar response. In Bihar, for instance, while nearly 20 percent of the first-year MBBS students last year in a few government medical colleges opted for Hindi books, none wrote the examination in the language this year. 'There has been an option for MBBS students to now study the course in Hindi… (but) the response has not been very enthusiastic though we tied up with MP-based publishers of Hindi textbooks to encourage students to pursue the programme in the language,' conceded Shashank Sinha, special secretary in the Bihar state health department. The trajectory has not been different in Chhattisgarh, UP and Rajasthan. Yet, proponents of the initiative feel it's an experiment worth pursuing. 'I am not a fanatic (over this project) but I feel it's an initiative that needs to be introduced and encouraged. When countries like Japan, China, France and Germany teach medicine to their students in their mother tongue and can still be competitive globally, why can't we do that?' asked Dr B.N. Gangadhar, outgoing chairman of the National Medical Commission (NMC) which regulates medical colleges across India. But few others agree. 'Our realities are different from those countries, where mostly one language dominates,' said Dr Shivkumar Utture, former NMC member and president of the Maharashtra Medical Council. The initiative, he said, has not been thought through or planned well and was started without holding wide consultations to assess ground realities. 'Due to these factors,' Utture said, 'the response is poor among MBBS students'. Breaking barriers or creating them? The argument given in favour of the initiative is that it will empower students from small towns and rural areas. 'The idea is to ease challenges that new MBBS inductees face when they join medical colleges. Being armed with a textbook in their first language is likely to make the navigation easier. I faced a similar problem when I went into medical college decades ago because I was not well versed in English,' Gangadhar told ThePrint. But those studying medicine now have different opinions. In a globalised world, which wants to connect in a common language and exchange ideas on a daily basis, these thoughts are outdated, they say. 'The Hindisation of MBBS curriculum in the current circumstances is a regressive step and it is only a political stunt aimed to appease certain groups,' Dr Amit Banjara, secretary of the Junior Doctors' Association, Chhattisgarh, said. According to Dr Harjit Singh Bhatti, a geriatrician based in Delhi, who completed his MBBS from Government Medical College Jabalpur in 2010, pursuing the course in Hindi may limit the students for life. 'It may actually end up creating barriers for doctors rather than opening doors for them because science constantly evolves and as practitioners of modern medicine, they have to be comfortable in a language that is acceptable and usable worldwide, irrespective of our background,' Bhatti said. 'Reaching patients in a language they understand' The advocates for MBBS in Hindi also argue that those studying in Hindi, or in other regional languages once they are available, is likely to help medical practitioners communicate better with their patients. The statistics show that nearly 60 percent MBBS pass-outs prefer to work in the states from which they completed their course, pointed out the outgoing NMC chairman. 'Against this background, it makes sense that they study the textbooks in a language which can also be the language of their communication with the patients,' Gangadhar insisted. Many public health specialists, however, had a differing opinion. 'I am for education in one's mother tongue but I fully disagree about the same in national or state languages. Hindi, for example, is an urban language, which is seldom spoken or understood in most rural areas of what we call Hindi heartland,' said Raman V.R., a public health expert from Chhattisgarh. The lingua franca of Hindi heartland are actually Diaavadhi, Bhojpuri, Brij, Khari boli, Magahi, Maithili, Garhwali, Kumaoni and Pahadi, among others, according to the public health specialist. Further, without having a change in cultural orientation around languages, it is difficult to prepare useful textbooks or reading material in non-English Indian languages, as the broader language structures and vocabulary are heavily influenced by Sanskrit in most local languages, experts also point out. 'As a person who tried to prepare resources and training material in Malayalam and Hindi, I have seen these challenges and I have been struggling myself at times, when it comes to preparing communicative material,' said Raman. He added that unless there is a change in the larger approach across educational, administrative and societal levels about languages and communication, a reform limited to one sector can only lead to a backlash and it's better to orient doctors about the cultural and behavioral aspects of treating the rural population. Those specialising in public health also said that while using regional languages to make higher education accessible is beneficial in itself, it needs to be backed up by research journals in that language. For instance, there are quality scientific journals in languages such as French, German, Swedish, Chinese, Russian journals and Japanese. As medicine is an evolving science and doctors need to constantly upgrade their knowledge, the current push may lead to outdated doctors for rural areas, said Dr Prabir K.C., an independent public health consultant from Kolkata. The NMC chairman, meanwhile, maintained that the progress of the Hindi push in MBBS course and the students' response to it can be assessed only 5-10 years down the line. 'We can then decide whether the intended purpose of the initiative is being fulfilled or not,' he said. (Edited by Viny Mishra) Also read: Doctors welcome MP's decision to scrap seat-leaving bond for MBBS students. What the policy entails
