Bird Flu In Jharkhand: Outbreak Reported At Ranchi's State-Run Poultry Farm; 2,196 Birds Culled

Within few days since Kerala's Alappuzha recorded cases of bird flu, the Jharkhand government on Wednesday sounded an alert after similar cases were reported in a state-run poultry farm in Ranchi, an official said on Wednesday.

The samples sent to the ICAR-National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) in Bhopal tested positive for H5N1, a type of avian influenza A virus that causes disease in birds.

What measures were taken?

Taking cognisance of the situation, the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying asked the Jharkhand government to take immediate measures including the declaration of infected and surveillance areas, restricting access to infected premises, destruction of birds and disposal of dead birds and infected material.

As per reports, as many as 2,196 birds including 1,745 chickens were culled at the Regional Poultry Farm, Hotwar, an official told PTI. A total of 1697 eggs were also destroyed.

The officials have been asked to notify areas within one km radius of the affected zone. Areas within a 10 km radius will be declared as surveillance zones.

The official said that the farm that was closed for renovation was opened barely three months back and got poultry from Bhubaneswar.

Bird Flu detected in Kerala's Alappuzha recently

Recently, a bird flu outbreak was reported in two places in Kerala's Alappuzha. According to the officials, the bird flu was confirmed in ducks reared in an area of ward 1 of Edathva Grama Panchayat and another area in ward 3 of Cheruthana Grama Panchayat in Kerala.

The disease was confirmed after the samples of the ducks showing symptoms of bird flu were sent to a lab in Bhopal for testing. A district administration official confirmed that samples tested positive for avian influenza (H5N1).

Following the action plan charted by the Government of India, a meeting chaired by the District Collector decided to initiate the process of killing and destroying (culling) domestic birds within a radius of one kilometer from the epicenter.