PARADIP: Panic gripped residents of Paradip after carcasses of crows were found in different slums and colonies of the town on Tuesday. In the last two to three weeks, around 15 crows have been found dead in Sandhakuda, Nehrubangla and Badapadia areas, slum-dwellers said.
But no sample has yet been collected by the municipality and veterinary officials to ascertain the cause of deaths. Veterinarians said the birds may have died due to cold or consumption of contaminated water from local water bodies.
In 2018, bird flu was reported from the port township after samples collected from different poultry farms tested positive for H5N1 virus. Two samples, collected from Badapadia and Sandhakuda were tested at Animal Disease Research Institute (ADRI) laboratory in Cuttack and High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal, tested positive for bird flu. Around 1,823 birds were culled and 2,019 eggs destroyed after the outbreak back then.
Meanwhile, additional district veterinary officer (disease control) Biswajit Panda said there is no need to panic. Thirty-six samples, collected from poultry farms in the towns, have been sent to the ADRI laboratory and another 60 will be sent for testing to the facility in the next two to three days.