JOIN USBird flu hits poultry sale near City
The State government has banned the sale of poultry products in a 10-km zone around the Central Poultry Breeding Farm in Hessarghatta as a precautionary measure following the outbreak of bird flu among turkey fowl in the poultry complex.
Animal Husbandry Minister Revu Naik Belamagi said at a press conference on Friday that eateries and hotels in 68 villages which come under the 10-km “surveillance zone” had been directed not to serve poultry products, including eggs, until further notice.
The outbreak of the avian influenza was noticed last week following the sudden death of 3,481 turkeys in 10 sheds in the breeding farm run by the Central Poultry Development Organisation. The remaining 784 turkeys were culled in a scientific manner. Tissue samples were sent to the High Security Animal Diseases Laboratory in Bhopal and a confirmation was received on October 25 on the presence of H5N1 virus in the affected birds.
The minister claimed that the virus had not spread to other sheds housing chicken, ducks and emus in the farm. However, as a precautionary measure, the farm was quarantined.
Animal Husbandry Principal Secretary Aravind Jannu said 25 rapid response teams had been constituted to attend to any eventualities occurring due to the possible spread of the virus.
Private and commercial poultry farms had been directed to keep a close watch on the health of poultries. Three helplines ( 080-22863260/ 28466397/23418327) had been opened to answer queries about bird flu and the steps that need to be taken to prevent the spread of the disease.