Bird Flu In Odisha: Here Is What You Should Do & Not Do

Bhubaneswar: A one km radius from the OUAT poultry farm has been designated as ‘infested zone’ and an area of 10 km radius is under surveillance after bird flu virus was detected in chicken here on Monday.

Around 3,000 birds were culled by 3pm on Tuesday and 15,000 chicken in the OUAT farm will be taken care of. The birds were buried inside a 12 feet ditch and salt, lime and bleaching power were used to prevent the possible spread of H5N1 virus.

While the state government has banned the sale of poultry within a kilometre of OUAT and has urged citizens not to panic, here are some dos and donts of bird flu prevention:

• Inhaling infected material or coming in contact with bird droppings increases risk
• Do not eat or handle undercooked or raw poultry, egg or duck dishes
• Avoid unnecessary contact with Bird Flu infected animals or humans and poultry farms
• Wear full protective equipment when cleaning suspected Bird Flu infected animal enclosures
• Boil all suspected Bird Flu contaminated drinking water. Water collected from house roofs or open ponds, lakes and rivers maybe infected from bird droppings. Avoid using water in open ponds, lakes or rivers where water birds gather.
• Do not transport live or dead chicken even if you think your birds are healthy.

• Check your temperature for 7 days at least once daily.

• Make sure to keep children away from dead or sick poultry.
• Dead birds and their faeces should be buried carefully.
• Avoid frozen food as the bird flu virus can survive for a long time.
• Always use masks, goggles, gloves, gown and cap when near infected patients and always wash hands with alcohol afterwards.
• Stay at least 1 to 2 metres away from a suspected infected person when talking.
• Always sterilise all clothing and other objects that have been in the same room or area as an infected person, bird or animal.
• People who have flu-like illness should take additional precautions.
• All food should be thoroughly cooked to a temperature of 70°C or above.