BENGALURU: Following the reports of bird flu in Bengaluru and Mandya, animal husbandry minister A Manju have announced that chickens are safe for consumption in the state.
While the suspected outbreak of Avian Influenza at a poultry farm at Dasarahalli, near Bengaluru has been contained, report of samples sent from Mandya to the National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) in Bhopal has come as negative to any form of bird flu that is lethal to humans.
Flu for chicken in Mandya, he said, was caused by an H5 strain of virus not H5N1 and the virus does not cause problems to humans. Test reports of Dasarahalli poultry farm sent to NIHSAD are still awaited, he said.
"There are types of fevers suffered by birds. We are discovering what kind of disease this is," he said. He said that it is also a possibility that the birds have caught the disease from birds that migrate from other nations to the country.
On whether the flu is caused due to the chickens brought from the neighbouring states, the minister said that routine checks are made before the chickens from other states are allowed for consumption. "If there are any symptoms of flu from birds from other states we will prohibit their entry," he added.