National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal, a nodal body for testing cases of bird flu, has confirmed that the cause behind the deaths of chicken in Thane on the night of January 18 was bird flu or Avian Influenza. With this, three villages in Thane district have reported flu in poultry birds. As per the containment plan prepared by the Union government, the local administration will cull poultry birds within a 1 km radius of a particular chicken farm where birds have died due to Avian Influenza. On January 10, samples of dead crows from Thane city had tested positive for bird flu. On January 19, 4,351 poultry birds were found dead in across the state, the highest toll in a day since January 8. Of them, around 3,700 poultry birds were found dead at Sawargad taluka in Yavatmal. Total number of bird deaths has risen to 8,273 in the state since January 8. Samples of poultry birds across 14 places in seven districts (including Thane) have tested positive for bird flu on the night of January 18. Over 25,000 poultry birds, all within 1 km radius of an infected poultry farm in the seven districts and 14 places have been culled. Watch the video to know more.