Indian state orders
poultry cull after bird flu outbreak
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[December 27, 2016]
By Jatindra Dash
BHUBANESWAR, India (Reuters) - An eastern
Indian state ordered the cull of more than 2,500 chickens and other
poultry after four dead crows and three dead poultry tested positive for
the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus, officials said on Tuesday.
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The bird flu virus was confirmed at Keranga village, about 35 km (22
miles) from Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha state, veterinary
officials said, days after dozens of crows and chickens were found
dead.
More than 30,000 birds were culled in a similar outbreak in the
region in 2012.
"We have issued an advisory to follow immediate measures to complete
culling operations, surveillance and sanitization in the infected
area," Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the state's Fisheries and
Animal Resources Development Department Bishnupada Sethi told
Reuters.
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"Over 2,500 poultry birds are being culled within one kilometer of
the epicenter for control and containment of bird flu. It's the
first time in the current season that this type of bird flu was
detected in the state and in the same area."
The H5N1 strain is considered as highly pathogenic. It can also
transmit to animals such as pigs, horse, large cats, dogs and
occasionally humans.
China reported two fatalities from H7N9 bird flu last week, its
first fatalities among this winter's cases, stoking fears the virus
could spread at a time when other Asian nations are battling to
control outbreaks of the disease.
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South Korea and Japan have been scrambling to contain outbreaks of
different strains of bird flu, with the poultry industry there
bracing for heavy financial losses.
The H5N1 strain is, however, less dangerous than the highly
contagious H5N8 strain found in several European countries in the
past few weeks.
(Editing by Malini Menon and Nick Macfie)
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