Bird flu: Over 2,000 birds culled in Munger

PATNA: Bird flu scare continues to persist in Bihar as 400 chickens were found dead at a poultry farm at a village in Bikram block in Patna district in the last 24 hours. More than 2,000 birds, including chicken and ducks, have been culled in a village at Munger after tests confirmed H5N1 virus.

Munger animal husbandry officer Shravan Kumar Bhagat told TOI that altogether 1,528 birds were culled at Mubarakpur on Friday, followed by around 450 on Saturday. “The culling exercise was extended to three more villages around Mubarakpur on Saturday. The culling is being done under the supervision of a joint team of the Regional Diseases Diagnostic Laboratory (RDDL), Kolkata and the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), Bhopal,” he said.

Incidentally, the presence of H5N1 strain of avian influenza was first detected in Bihar from viscera of dead birds in six villages of Asarganj block on December 21.

Bhagat added a six-member team from the ministry of agriculture and farmers’ welfare has arrived at Munger. “The team is suggesting us scientific measures for preventing spread of H5N1 virus,” the animal husbandry officer said.

The second major exercise for containment of avian influenza on Saturday was done at Bikram block in Patna district, where over 400 chickens were found dead at a poultry farm in Andhrachowki village.

“The dead birds have been scientifically buried 10 feet under the ground bleaching powder was sprinkled while covering it. Some samples have been sent to RDDL, Kolkata for tests,” said an official at control room for bird flu set up by the state animal husbandry department (AHD) at Patna.

Meanwhile, sanitization work for containment of bird flu continued at the Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park or Patna zoo on Saturday. The Patna zoo has been shut since December 25 following death of six peafowls due to H5N1 virus, which was confirmed by NIHSAD and RDDL, Kolkata.

The animal husbandry department has also collected over 500 samples from poultry farms and shops as part of a serum surveillance conducted in 9km radius of Patna zoo to assess the spread of avian influenza virus outside the zoo premises. The samples have been sent to NIHSAD and RDDL, Kolkata.

College of Arts and Crafts at Patna has also been closed till January 6 in the wake of death of eight birds on its premises. “We are awaiting test reports of the samples of dead birds which were sent to NIHSAD-Bhopal,” an official at AHD control room said.