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India’s ongoing battle with bird flu has taken a serious turn after a child in Andhra Pradesh succumbed to the H5N1 virus, prompting renewed concerns about the virus's ability to jump species. What was once primarily a poultry-centered infection is now affecting a broader range of animals, including tigers, leopards, jungle cats, pet cats, and various wild birds, indicating a troubling expansion of the virus's reach and posing fresh biosecurity and public health challenges.
Against this backdrop, the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD) organized a high-level emergency meeting on April 4, 2025, in New Delhi. The meeting, presided over by Secretary Alka Upadhyaya, assembled the best scientific brains, veterinary professionals, poultry industry players, and officials from leading research institutions such as ICAR-NIHSAD and ICAR-IVRI to develop a stronger national response.
Perhaps the most urgent of issues brought forward in the course of the meeting was the report of H5N1 detection in non-poultry hosts. Infections were reported in tigers, leopards, hawks, egrets, and vultures in Maharashtra. Rajasthan noted infection in demoiselle cranes and painted storks, and Madhya Pradesh in a domestic cat in a household setting. Crows and jungle cats tested positive in Bihar and Goa, raising the specter of wide-scale infection outside the conventional bird carriers.
India has identified 34 outbreak hotspots, with six currently active in Jharkhand (Bokaro, Pakur), Telangana (Ranga Reddy, Nalgonda, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri), and Chhattisgarh (Baikunthpur, Korea). Andhra Pradesh has declared a number of districts: East and West Godavari, Eluru, Kurnool, NTR, and Kakinada, as surveillance or containment areas, imposing strict movement restrictions within a 10-kilometer radius around infected zones.
To contain the growing scenario, DAHD launched a three-point containment plan:
1. Reinforced Biosecurity Measures: Poultry farms must adopt stricter sanitation practices, limit visitors from outside the farm, and follow biosecurity protocols.
2. Required Registration and Monitoring: All poultry farms will be required to register with state animal husbandry departments in the next month to assist with trace and response efforts.
3. Proactive Monitoring Systems: The government is developing modeling software to predict disease, and is working on environmental monitoring systems so the farmers will have two warning systems.
The poultry industry in India is critical for food security and rural livelihoods, and protecting the poultry industry should be a national priority. The importance of science-led policy, enhanced surveillance, and collective action from both the public and private sectors.
Alka Upadhyaya, Secretary DAHD
Meanwhile, the conversation around vaccination has gained momentum. The government has greenlit the commercial release of the H9N2 (low pathogenic avian influenza) vaccine developed by ICAR-NIHSAD. A nationwide study is underway to assess its effectiveness.
However, the decision to introduce a vaccine for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) remains under evaluation. Although industry representatives are pushing for vaccination as a buffer against economic losses, scientific advisors caution that current HPAI vaccines only reduce viral shedding and don’t guarantee complete immunity. Efforts to develop a homegrown HPAI vaccine have already begun.
The country continues to follow its established "test-and-cull" policy, which involves culling infected birds, imposing movement restrictions, and sanitizing affected areas. Surveillance has intensified, especially during the migratory bird season, with expanded testing now covering non-poultry species such as cats, jungle cats, and wild birds. Until now, farm animals such as cattle, goats, and pigs have all been negative.
As an international example of cooperation, India is proactively providing its H5N1 genetic sequence data to global disease surveillance networks. The National Joint Outbreak Response Team and central government task forces are collaborating with state governments and wildlife departments to take swift and coordinated action.
The government is also assisting impacted farmers under the Livestock Health and Disease Control Scheme, which provides compensation for birds culled, eggs destroyed, and feed, costs divided equally between the central and state governments.
Though India has encountered cyclical bird flu epidemics since 2006, this year's cross-species transmission trend has introduced a new element of sophistication into the task of containment. As the virus risks mutating and broadening its host base, DAHD's science-based, multi-stakeholder strategy is committed to remaining one step ahead.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Sai Sindhuja K/MSM)
