Culling
resumes as Surat poultry tests positive
Surat/Ahmedabad:
As some chickens on Saturday tested positive for the
deadly avian flu virus in Surat region bordering Navapur
the ground zero of the bird flu outbreak, government today
resumed wide-scale culling of the poultry in Gujarat. Vatsala
Vasudeva, District Magistrate, Surat, said here that they
already had earlier culled birds in farms within 10 kilometres
of Navapur as a precautionary measure but now with the recent
report, all the birds across 71 villages, which included
the unorganized poultry sector, will be culled by evening.
"The avian flu has been detected among some chickens from
one poultry farm in Utchal taluka. It was confirmed by the
Union government on two samples out of thirteen that we
had sent from the region," Gujarat Secretary for Breeding
and Protection D K Rao said. The Timol poultry farm in Utchal
is in the vicinity of the avian flu-hit Navapur taluka in
Nandurbar district of Maharashtra. Steps had been taken
by the Government following the outbreak of bird flu to
prevent spread of the disease among rest of the birds and
human beings as well. After the outbreak of bird flu in
Maharashtra, the Centre had announced an alert across Gujrat.
Some case of bird flu in six poultry farms near Surat in
Gujarat were also confirmed and the State government has
planned to go in for immediate vaccination of birds in Ucchal
town of Surat district, with the help of a Central team.
Earlier,
The culling of over 60,000 chickens in Uchal taluka of Surat
near Navapur was completed after which authorities turned
their attention on bird feed imported by poultry farmers
to ascertain if they were infected. Culling in Navapur and
surrounding areas is over and more than 345,000 birds had
been destroyed, officials said, adding a few remaining backyard
poultry were being culled after compensating the owners.
Panic had gripped the world's second most populous nation
after 12 people were suspected for a possible human infection
of the H5N1 virus but officials on Thursday said 11 of them
have been tested negative for the virus. The World Health
Organisation (WHO) had earlier said that mutations in the
H5N1 virus are seemingly making it more deadly in chickens
and more resistant in the environment but without yet increasing
the threat to humans.
Back
to Headlines
Go
To Top