BHUBANESWAR: A high-level team from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will visit the bird flu affected area in the Capital on Thursday to take stock of the situation.
Director of Public Health Dr Ajit Kumar Mohanty, who convened a preparatory meeting to prevent spread of the flu here, said all measures are being taken by the State Government to contain spread of the Avian Influenza that was first reported at the poultry firm of College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry at Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) here two days back. An awareness drive has been launched in the city while door-to-door health check up is being carried out to ensure that citizens are not affected by the disease, he added.
Meanwhile, the Fisheries and Animal Resources Development (F&ARD) department carried out its culling operation within one km radius of the OUAT firm that has been declared as infected zone. A total 80 birds were culled while 1,059 eggs and 10 kg poultry birds were disposed in the zone on Wednesday. Besides, `8,017 was paid to the poultry vendors towards compensation, said F&ARD officials.
While seven Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) of the department carried out culling operation and disinfection in OUAT firm and city markets within the infected zone, five more RRTs visited farmers and markets within one to 10 km radius of the infected site (surveillance zone) to review the situation.
The RRTs have culled 922 poultry birds and disposed over 4,000 eggs in the infected zone. On Tuesday, they also collected samples from the surveillance zone for testing at the High Security Animal Diseases Diagnosis Lab in Bhopal. F&ARD officials said the culling and disinfection drive will continue on Thursday.