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Nearly 400,000 birds, 2.1 million eggs culled from Indian farms affected by avian flu
This is the third instance of bird flu reported in Maharashtra's Nandurbar district since 2006; the second happened in 2021. Nandurbar is about 400 kms north of Mumbai
- PUBLISHED: Mon 18 May 2026, 6:25 PM
An Indian central government team will be visiting Nandurbar district in Maharashtra next week to take stock of the outbreak of avian influenza that continues to rage across over a dozen poultry farms despite the culling of nearly 400,000 birds and over 2.1 million eggs.
This is the third instance of avian flu reported in the district since 2006; the second happened in 2021. Nandurbar is about 400 km north of Mumbai. The impact has been severe on the region, with operational farms falling from 60 in 2006 to just 38 now.
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Dr Baburao Narawade, the regional joint commissioner of Animal Husbandry, Nandurbar, told reporters that the remaining farms are determined to face the challenges and continue operations, as they provide jobs in the backward region.
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Navapur, a tribal-dominated sub-district, has 1.2 million layer birds that produce nearly a million eggs daily.
Mittali Sethi, the district collector, confirmed that birds are being culled in farms within a one-km radius from the affected farms. "Following the detection of bird flu in a poultry farm in Navapur, we have constituted 25 teams and 150 staff are currently working on a war footing to contain it,” she told the media.
Government officials are undertaking door-to-door medical checks of the people there and taking other steps to tackle the crisis.
Dr. Sanjay Khachane, district deputy commissioner of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, told the media that 13 poultry farms located near identified epicentres have already been culled.
Samples have also been sent to the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) laboratory in Bhopal.
According to medical experts, the resurgence of H5N1 avian influenza has emerged as a critical public health priority in India.
Besides the outbreak in Navapur, reports have also emerged from Karnataka’s Tumakaru district. Last month, nearly 45 peacocks were found dead in the district. The state’s health department intensified surveillance in the district after H5N1 avian influenza was confirmed in samples from dead peacocks. These were confirmed by the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
Officials in Karnataka said the zoonotic viral disease mostly affects poultry and wild birds, though some infections have been reported among mammals and even humans.
The government has put zoos, sanctuaries and wetlands under vigilance in the state. According to doctors, humans can get bird flu after contact with an animal’s spit, milk, or small dust particles in animal habitats.
