VIJAYAWADA: Clarifying that no case of bird flu has been reported in Andhra Pradesh, Animal Husbandry director Dr Amarendra Kumar said there is no need to worry and that people can consume chicken and eggs.
“Though six crows were found dead in Kollipara village near Tenali of Guntur district, no suspected symptoms of avian influenza was found in the analysis,” he said.
Speaking to TNIE, Amarendra Kumar said apart from constituting rapid reaction teams with Animal Husbandry employees at district-level, the government is also liasoning with the forest staff and will organise a training session for them on Thursday.
“As the forest staff guard the migratory birds in sanctuaries, we want them to observe the birds and inform us in case they find anything unusual about them. We will train the staff as the migratory birds are the source of contamination,” he added.
He said more than one lakh exotic birds migrate to Pulicat lake, Nelapattu bird sanctuary, Kolleru lake and Korangi.
“The animal husbandry staff will collect samples in case they find anything suspicious about the birds, and send them to Vijayawada for rapid tests. Later, the samples will be sent to National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal for further testing and analysis.”
Asserting that there is no need to press the panic button, he, however, said a contingency plan has been prepared and the staff were put on alert.
“We are also in touch with the poultry industry and have put it on alert.”