500 chickens culled over bird flu scare in Odisha
Ten rapid response teams have been mobilised for the operation in the area, officials said.
Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Wednesday launched culling of chickens to curb spreading of bird flu virus in Keranga village in Khurda district. As many as 500 chickens were culled till the evening.
A compensation of Rs 90 from the state government and Rs 25 from Red Cross is being provided for culling of each fowl, informed state fisheries and animal resources development minister Pradeep Maharathy.
The minister said the situation would be under control within 4-5 days. In order to convince the villagers to part with their birds, Khurda collector Niranjan Sahoo and other officials of the district administration had on Tuesday evening held a meeting with the villagers and promised them of better compensation from Red Cross following which they agreed to cooperate in the culling process.
The process for culling of chickens in the village within a radius of one-km was initiated after four dead crows and three dead poultry tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus aka bird flu virus. Ten rapid response teams have been mobilised for the operation in the area, officials said.
“Keranga village is the epicentre of bird flu. We have directed culling of poultry within the radius of one kilometre,” fisheries and animal resources development secretary Bishnupada Sethi said.
“The H5N1 is considered highly pathogenic. It can also transmit to animals and humans. The health department is monitoring the situation,” he added.
A similar outbreak was reported in the region in 2012. A control room has been set up at the Directorate of Animal Husbandry to monitor the situation and to disseminate information.