Government Tells Assembly That Birds’ Numbers Dropped By 25%

Ahmedabad: Vulture population in Gujarat has dropped to a new low of 1,065 during the last five years. The count recorded in 2007 was 2,539 and ever since then, a sharp decline is seen. The count further dropped to 1,431 in 2008 and the May 2010 count showed that there are just 1,065 vultures in the state. The state government in a reply to a question posed by Karjan MLA Chandu Dabhi said that the vulture count in May 2010 was 1,065,

Investigations By Civic Agency, Blood Reports Reveal 17 Animals Had Been Infected
New Delhi: Pigs brought to the city from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, could be behind the spread of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) in the city. This is what the latest report on the screening of blood samples collected from the swine and subsequent investigations carried out by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has revealed. According to the civic body, at least three pigs transported to the city from Indore by local traders for slaughtering have tested positive for the JE virus.

In a fresh survey, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has found three more positive samples of Japanese Encephalitis antibodies in pigs.
The Veterinary department and the Public Health department conducted a survey in three zones, collecting samples from 83 pigs.
Of these, three were found “provisionally” positive.

With fear of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) looming large in the Capital, the Delhi Government has directed the civic body to immediately stop rearing of pigs in residential areas. While there are slaughterhouses for other animals, there are no slaughterhouses for pigs. A proposal has been moved by Directorate of Health Services which suggested that Delhi Government should impose municipal laws banning rearing pigs in residential colonies and areas as it was applied in the case of banning cows and buffalos in the capital.

New Delhi: In what has sent alarm bells ringing in the administration, 20% of the blood samples taken from pigs across the city have tested positive for Japanese encephalitis, indicating that the disease is likely to spread in Delhi. Japanese encephalitis, which is endemic to eastern UP and Bihar where it claimed around 1,000 lives this year, is transmitted from pigs to humans by mosquitoes. The blood samples, 81 in all, were collected by MCD following reports of the disease from Shahdara, Rohini and Shastri Park, among other localities.

Setting the alarm bells ringing for the MCD, 17 blood samples collected from pigs in the national capital by the civic body have tested positive for the Japanese Encephalitis virus.

MCD health committee chairman Dr V.K. Monga said the civic body has decided to send another 100 samples for testing.