OUAT Confirms Bird Flu, Culling To Begin In Bhubaneswar From Tomorrow

Bhubaneswar: Hours after the report of the outbreak of bird flu at its research farm by the media, the Odisha University of Agriculture Technology (OUAT) on Monday said that the culling of chickens will begin from Tuesday.

Talking to mediapersons, head of the Department of Pathology, OUAT, Sushen Panda, said that following the death of chickens in the research farm in the last 2-3 days, the blood and excreta samples were sent to the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) in Bhopal. “The report received from the laboratory confirmed presence of H1N1 (influenza virus). We have informed the state government to begin the culling of the chickens from tomorrow,” he added.

Sources in the Animal Resources Department said that the culling of the chickens in the OUAT poultry research farm will begin from Tuesday. Apart from this, the department has banned the sale of chicken eggs and meat in 1 km radius of OUAT where all chickens will be culled and dumped inside a 12-feet pit with lime and bleaching power to prevent the spread of the virus to the nearby areas.

To carry out the culling operation and surveillance measures, l2 Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) have been formed with qualified veterinary doctors and para-veterinarians. Seven teams will be engaged for culling operation within I km radius of the infected site and the rest five will collect blood. tracheal and cloaca) samples from poultry birds in the surveillance zone at regular intervals, the sources said.

Meanwhile, the Odisha government has launched an awareness campaigns to make people aware about the disease and precautionary measures.