NEW DELHI, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Authorities in Delhi have ordered the closure of the National Zoological Park to visitors starting Saturday after the confirmation of bird flu in two bird carcasses, officials said.
The authorities have also instructed officials at the zoo to follow the protocol for avian influenza.
Reports said that following the deaths of painted storks and black-necked ibises at the park, routine samples from the dead birds were sent to the ICAR-National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases on Aug. 27, where H5N1 was confirmed in two of the samples.
Bird flu, a highly infectious and severe respiratory disease in birds caused by the H5N1 influenza virus, can occasionally infect humans as well. ■
