KENDRAPARA: At least 200 poultry birds have died in the last two days in Kharinashi village under Mahakalapada forest block within Bhitarkanika National Park fuelling fears of bird flu. A general flu alert has been sounded in the area, said Dr Chaitanya Charan Sethi, the Chief District Veterinary Officer (CDVO) of Kendrapara on Tuesday.
The birds had died in the farm house of a fisherman in the village. The area and 2 km radius around it has been kept under surveillance, he added.
Forest and veterinary officials have also sounded bird flu alert in Bhitarkanika and Bagagahana, the heronry where migratory birds have arrived, and are taking precautionary measure to detect sick birds.
This apart, the veterinarians have recently vaccinated 38,000 poultry birds to protect them from Ranikhet disease (also known as New Castle Disease or Doyle’s disease) and bird flu. “We have also requested farmers rearing poultry birds to utilise this opportunity and approach the nearest veterinary dispensaries to get the birds vaccinated to prevent the viral disease”, added Dr Sethi. Rapid Response Team (RRT) has been formed in all nine blocks of the district and 19 Veterinary Assistant Surgeon (VAS), 55 livestock inspectors, one Gomitra, Zilla Parishad members and social workers are the members of each RRT.
Forest and veterinary officials are keeping a watch on the migratory birds as they are prone to carry H5NI strain of avian influenza. “We had started examining some avian species in Bhitarkanika but could not find any sick birds,” the officer said.
Samples of blood, stool, tracheal and cloacae of 28 poultry birds were sent to Animal Disease Research Institute (ADRI), Cuttack, for examination. These samples will be later sent to High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) in Bhopal for tests. Around 45 poultry farm owners have been trained to detect any sick hens.