India govt confirms bird flu in 6 states, chicken sales in country gets affected

Bird flu has been confirmed in Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat so far, the Centre said on Friday and asked these states to contain the disease. States unaffected by Avian Influenza (AI) have been asked to keep a vigil on any unusual mortality among birds and to report immediately so that necessary measures are taken in the fastest possible time, it added. “So far, the disease has been confirmed from six states. It is learnt that culling operations have been completed in both the affected districts of Kerala. The disinfection process is underway,” the government said in a statement. Central teams have been deployed to visit Kerala, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh for monitoring and epidemiological investigation, officials have said. 

The department of animal husbandry and dairying has suggested the affected states to contain the disease as per the action plan on Avian Influenza. The government said awareness among poultry farmers and the consumers of eggs and chicken about the disease is of foremost importance. “Communication from the secretary, department of animal husbandry and dairying, has also been sent to the health ministry to restore consumer confidence in consumption of chicken and eggs,” the statement said. Meanwhile, as authorities take measures to control the spread of bird flu, egg and poultry consumption has gone down in some parts of the country where the outbreak of the virus has been reported. Traders have said that although there is no effect on the farm, their sales have diminished over the past few days. Following the detection, the government ordered closure of all poultry shops in the area for a week. District authorities also been asked to collect samples of migratory birds from near water bodies and send them to Bhopal for testing.