Bird flu scare: 3 check posts opened

Animal Husbandry Dept forms teams to find infected birds and vaccinate them

An alert has been sounded on the borders of Kodagu district after the outbreak of bird flu (H5N1) in a privately-owned poultry farm in Bidar district.

Three check posts have been opened on the Karnataka-Kerala border and the officials of the Department of Animal Husbandry are on high alert on the movement of lorries laden with poultry.

Staff members

The Department has opened check posts at Karikeri in Madikeri, Kutta and Makutta in Virajpet. Each check post has a senior veterinary doctor, a veterinary inspector and a D-grade employee to inspect the lorries transporting poultry.

The precautionary measures have been taken following the outbreak of bird flu in Kerala. A rapid response team has been constituted in the district. The Department has been directed to form three teams in Madikeri, and four teams each in Somwarpet and Virajpet. The teams, in turn, have been directed to identify whether there are any infected poultry birds in the district, to undertake vaccination and also to give priority to cleanliness.

‘No infection’

“No birds in the poultry farms in the district have been affected. The Department has taken precautionary measures. The district does not have poultry farms with more than thousand birds in them,” Animal Husbandry Department Deputy Director Dr C Nagaraj told Deccan Herald.

“There is no history of outbreak of bird flu in the district. The people need not worry. In spite of it, check posts have been opened. The department has proposed to set up a permanent check posts at a cost of Rs 10 lakh in border areas,” he said.

“The poultry lorries from Kerala are not entering the district through border villages. The restriction which was imposed long back will continue now as well,” the deputy director said.

Alert in sanctuary

“There are large numbers of birds found in coffee estates and hillocks in the district. If any bird was found dead unnaturally near the lakes and inside forest, the public should inform the veterinary doctors. The Department has decided to collect samples of migratory birds with the help of the Forest Department from the Talacauvery sanctuary. The collected sample will be sent to Bengaluru to testing,” he assured.

In spite of the bird flu scare, the chicken stalls in the district have not yet reported any decline in business. The broiler chicken was sold at Rs 150 a kg while an egg is sold at Rs 4. The price of the chicken has not reduced either.