Government advisory to all districts against bird flu

PATNA: The state animal husbandry department on Wednesday issued an advisory to all the 38 district magistrates in the state for prevention of spread of avian influenza or H5N1 (bird flu) after the outbreak of virus at Patna zoo and a village in Munger district.
As per the advisory, the poultry farmers have been asked to keep their surroundings clean and feed high quality products. Besides culling, safe disposal of all such culled animals and animal products has also been suggested.
The expert committee of animal husbandry department started serum surveillance in 9km radius of Patna zoo to assess the spread of virus outside the premises.
Director of animal husbandry, Vinod Singh Gunjiyal, told this newspaper on Wednesday that four teams of experts would collect the sample of bird’s drooping, feathers and body part in the 9km radius of Patna zoo and send the samples to the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) laboratory at Bhopal for test.
“The experts will cover domestic birds and poultry near the zoo in the wake of reports of death of six peafowls due to H5N1,” he said.
The department has also set up a control room in each district with a toll-free helpline number 0612-2230942. Authorities in wildlife, sanctuaries, bird water bodies and parks across the state have also been alerted to report any suspicious bird behaviour or sudden death.
“If any bird is found positive with avian influenza, the matter should be addressed immediately by killing and burying the carcass of the bird underground. Bird flu generally spreads during winter time when the migratory birds, especially aquatic birds which carry various germs that is immune to them, come in contact with the other birds. There are no known cases of H5N1 in human beings, but necessary precautions are required while handling sick or dead birds,” Gunjiyal said, adding properly cooked poultry products like chicken or eggs only should be used.
State Health Society, a unit of health department, has also issued fresh alert to all the districts and medical superintendents against the deadly disease. Sanjay Kumar, principal secretary of health department, said the health centres and hospitals across the state were asked to stock up necessary medicines.