What is the news:

Around 31,000 birds have been culled over the past two days after samples from a poultry farm tested positive for bird flu (H5N8 virus) at Kila Raipur. The district administration had declared the area an infected zone and issued orders of culling the birds.

Earlier, the National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases, Bhopal, had confirmed the presence of avian influenza (H5N8 virus) in the samples taken from the poultry farm here.

The area within 1 km radius of the poultry farm was declared an infected zone while the 10 km area around it was designated as a surveillance zone.

What is bird flu?

Bird flu, also called avian influenza, is a viral infection that can infect not only birds, but also humans and other animals. Most forms of the virus are restricted to birds.
H5N1 is the most common form of bird flu. It’s deadly to birds and can easily affect humans and other animals that come in contact with a carrier. According to the World Health Organization, H5N1 was first discovered in humans in 1997 and has killed nearly 60 percent of those infected.