Around 190 pigeons were found dead in Ahmedabad city of Gujarat in over a period of two days, said officials on Thursday. Bird flu is been suspected as the probable cause of death in these pigeons.

Dr Rajendra Patel, assistant director, animal husbandry department, Ahmedabad district, said, to ascertain the exact cause of death of the pigeons in the Narol area, two carcass samples were sent to a Bhopal laboratory for testing for avian influenza.

"Around 190 pigeons were found dead in the Narol area of the city during the last two days in a suspected case of bird flu. We have discarded the carcasses as per protocols and sanitised the area.

"We have sent two samples to a Bhopal-based laboratory for confirmation (of bird flu)," said Patel.

Bird flu cases were first reported in Gujarat on January 8 when samples of some dead birds, found near a dam in Junagadh district, later tested positive for avian influenza.

Later, bird flu cases were also reported from Surat, Vadodara and Valsad districts, where samples of dead crows returned positive tests for the virus.

Bird flu is a highly infectious and severe respiratory disease in birds caused by the influenza virus.

With PTI inputs