By Pradeep Singh
Gurgaon, Dec 24 (IANS): The results of the samples collected from the Sultanpur National Park here have ruled avian flu symptoms in the migratory birds in the sanctuary, an official said Wednesday.
A team of veterinary doctors and wildlife officials collected samples from birds in the sanctuary a few days back and sent them to labs in Sonipat and Jalandhar to ascertain if any of the birds were showing symptoms of H5N1 virus.
"A team of veterinary doctors have collected samples of birds thrice, so far, no symptoms of flu have been found in birds in the sanctuary," district forest officer (Wildlife) Kulvinder Singh told IANS.
Bird sanctuary officials and employees have been directed to keep a close eye on the birds to monitor their physical activities.
"We have established a control room at sanctuary to closely monitor the activities of birds through CCTV cameras," Singh said.
This would help officials initiate an action at the right time in case of any irregularity in their activities, or signs of showing H5N1 virus symptoms.
He said administration has hired specialists to take blood samples of migratory birds and test them for symptoms of bird flu. Blood samples will be collected Thursday, he added.
"The samples are being taken as a precautionary measure to find out if signs of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) exist in birds migrating to the Sultanpur National Park," Singh said.
A large number of birds migrate to Gurgaon and surrounding areas for centuries of the world from Siberia during the winter season.
"At present, nearly 35,000 birds including migratory birds of 35 different species are residing in the Sultanpur bird sanctuary. Around 10,000 have arrived in last three days and number may cross 50,000 in coming days," said a bird expert at sanctuary.
Wildlife department officials are on high alert ever since a sample of geese from Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh tested positive for bird flu last week, following which the lake was restricted to the public for a month. A case of flu in bird was reported from Jind district of Haryana.
The Sultanpur National Park near Farrukhnagar is one of the major tourist attractions.
Bird lovers and wildlife photographer across the country and abroad visits the sanctuary in large numbers from October to March every year.