In today’s episode we take a detailed look at the bird flu outbreak in India, look at how serious it is and how it can be contained.

Cases of bird avian influenza or bird flu have been reported from Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh in recent weeks. During the first week of January, reports of unusual deaths of a large number of birds, including wild ones, started coming in from many States, indicating that the virus is being actively transmitted among various bird groups.

So what causes bird flu and how does it spread? What is its impact on birds and what is the kind of threat it can pose to human beings? Crucially, how does one come up with strategies to contain it?

Guest: G. Ananthakrishnan, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu

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