Odisha orders poultry cull after detection of bird flu

January 11th, 2012 - 10:32 pm ICT by IANS  

Bhubaneswar, Jan 11 (IANS) Odisha Wednesday decided to cull poultry in at least 18 villages of its Khordha district after bird flu was detected in the area, an official said.

“The culling of about 40,000 birds will be carried out in and around a 3 km-radius of the Keranga area from Thursday,” Satyabrata Sahu, secretary of the fishery and animal resources department told IANS.

The decision to cull birds was taken on the basis of the recommendation made by a team of experts who visited the infected area Wednesday.

The government had sent samples of hundreds of birds, mostly crows and poultry to the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) in Bhopal. This, after hundreds of crows died in some parts of the state in the last fortnight.

The tests confirmed that a chicken of the Keranga area was infected with the deadly H5N1 virus.

The state government has also asked all its 30 districts to remain alert in view of the detection of the bird flu case. Besides, officials at the world-famous Chilika lake and Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary have been told to keep a watch on migratory birds. Both places are home to lakhs of winter migratory birds.

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