Bird Flu Threat In Odisha’s Neighbouring State; Over 400 Chickens Die In 5 Days

Bokaro: There is a bird flu alert in Odisha’s neighbouring state Jharkhand.

More than 400 chickens have died in five days in a government poultry farm located in Lohanchal, Sector 12 of Jharkhand’s Bokaro district.

A Kolkata lab has confirmed that the chickens were affected by bird flu.

It has prompted the district animal husbandry department and poultry sector to sit up and take notice. An investigation is underway.

Bokaro’s Deputy Commissioner Kuldeep Chowdhary has advised people to refrain from eating chicken.

“The Animal Husbandry Department team from Ranchi took samples of dead chickens and sent them to Kolkata and Madhya Pradesh for investigation. Two species of chickens — Kadaknath and RIR — are kept in this farm. Chickens of both species are dying. Bird flu has been confirmed in the investigation,” said district animal husbandry officer Manoj Kumar Mani.

Avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, is an infectious viral disease of birds, especially wild water ducks and geese.

Wild birds don’t show any symptom while carrying the virus, and transmit it to poultries through feathers or faeces.