The Avian influenza or bird flu (H5N1 virus) outbreak in Bihar has forced eggs out of the state government schools’ mid-day meal menu on Tuesday.

The primary education and MDM director Sahila cited the “alert issued by the Union fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying ministry to Bihar and other states over the increasing incidence of bird flu”, and issued directions to all district education officers and district programme officers in this regard.

“The additional chief secretary of the education department has directed to immediately stop providing eggs as a part of the MDM menu with immediate effect. All students will be given seasonal fruits — apple or bananas — instead. Directions to provide eggs would be issued again once the situation becomes normal,” Sahila said in the missive, marked “most urgent”.

She also pointed to the awareness campaigns in the newspapers, asking people to avoid eating eggs and chicken.

The Bihar government provides eggs to students every Friday under the MDM scheme for Classes I to VIII. The vegetarian students are provided apples or bananas.

The bird flu outbreak was first noticed at the poultry farm at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) – Research Complex for Eastern Region (RCER) in Patna. Chickens were found dead on February 27 and samples were sent to Bhopal-based National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases.

The samples tested positive for H5N1 virus last week. Culling of chicken in and around ICAR–RCER was carried out on March 8 and 9 and the information about the avian influenza outbreak became public knowledge.

“Bird flu has been confirmed in Patna and Bhagalpur districts so far. The confirmation is done only after the samples are tested at NIHSAD. The control and containment operations have started. We have initiated culling of poultry within 1km radius (infected zone) of the epicentre or the place where the birds were found dead,” Bihar animal and fisheries resources department additional chief secretary N. Vijaya Lakshmi told The Telegraph.

As per the control and containment guidelines, the sale and purchase of poultry and poultry products in the infected zone and surveillance zone (1km to 10km from the place of incidence) is banned.

However, Vijaya Lakshmi added that consuming eggs and poultry well-cooked over 70 degrees Celsius was safe and added that there was no reason to panic.