New Delhi, Oct 19 (IANS) Delhi Zoo will remain shut for some more days, an official said on Wednesday, as tests confirmed that bird influenza had indeed killed two of the 10 migratory birds.
"We sent the carcasses to a lab in Jalandhar which were forwarded to Bhopal. The presence of bird influenza was confirmed in two samples," a zoo official told IANS on the condition of anonymity.
He said the zoo, which was shut on Tuesday, would remain closed for another four to five days while the staff take stool samples of other birds.
The zoo was temporarily shut since nine uncaged or migratory birds died on October 14, 15 and 17. The 10th bird died on Wednesday.
The dead birds included Painted Stork, Rosy Pelican and common ducks. Officials said these birds migrate from Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan in August and leave in March.
An official told IANS that these birds dwell in the ponds of the zoo. Officials do not know where the birds caught bird influenza or bird flu.
"The common ducks lived in a separate pond while Pelicans and Storks live in one. There are three such ponds in the zoo," an official said.
The carcasses were sent to Northern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Jalandhar, which forwarded them to the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory, Bhopal.
