Bhubaneswar: In a bid to check spread of
bird flu, Odisha government on Thursday began culling of fowls
within three km radius of Keranga in Khurda district as
advised by the Centre, official sources said.
"The culling of poultry has been launched at a
private firm in Keranga and nearby areas," Sanjeet Kumar,
central government`s Nodal Officer for culling, said while
supervising the operation in the field.
While one team had been pressed into service for
culling work at the private firm having about 28,000 poultry,
another group was busy in nearby villages.
Stating that the entire operation was undertaken
with adequate precaution and safeguards, Kumar said two
12-feet deep pits have been dug to bury the culled birds.
Though locals initially protested the slight delay in
starting the culling, work later progressed in full swing.
District Collector Roopa Mishra also visited the area to
monitor the culling, official sources said.
While culling was on in three km radius of Keranga,
surveillance work was undertaken in villages within its ten km
radius to detect any possible outbreak of avian influenza,
Gopal Tripathy, Odisha`s Nodal Officer in Fisheries and Animal
Resource Development department, said.
The decision to undertake culling was taken following
an advisory from the Centre after re-examination of serum of
some infected poultry in Keranga area. Earlier, tests
confirmed trace of H5N1 virus in two dead birds.
Besides the commercial firm having about 28,000 fowls,
culling of other poultry stock was also carried out in the
area, Tripathy said.
The department had trained about 120 personnel
including 50 veterinary doctors to undertake culling.
The state government has also stopped serving eggs in
the mid-day meal of schools in the affected areas of Keranga
and 16 other adjacent villages.
PTI
