Hundreds of dead chickens found along NH-16 sparks bird flue panic at Soro

BALASORE: Bird flu panic gripped residents of Soro after hundreds of dead chickens were found dumped along National Highway-16 on Sunday. Though the exact reason behind the death of the chickens is yet to be ascertained, locals have become panic-stricken suspecting it to be an outbreak of bird flu.

Sources said several aspects including poisoning, disease and bird flu are being considered as the probable causes.

However, veterinary experts, who visited the spot, allayed fears of bird flu and said the chickens might have been dumped from a transport truck after they died due to stress.

Additional Veterinary Assistant Surgeon Budhiram Roul said, “On being informed by the locals, we rushed to the spot. Preliminary investigation suggests that the death of the chickens is not due to bird flu.”
Serum samples of the dead chickens have been collected and will be sent to the Animal Disease Research Institute (ADRI) at Cuttack and High-Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal, he said.

As the news of the en masse death of the birds spread, there were reports of distress sale of broiler chickens by poultry farm owners.  The sale of chicken dropped by 40 per cent in the district on the day.

Bhuban Chandra Behera, a chicken seller in Balasore town, said on hearing the news, people refrained from buying chicken and the bird flu fear may continue for the next few days.

As a precautionary measure, the Animal Husbandry department has sounded an alert and asked people not to touch chickens dropping dead. Chief District Veterinary Officer, Balasore Dr Nityananda Das said, “We have requested poultry farm owners to inform the administration if they spot any dead chickens.”

Poultry farmers have also been urged to approach the nearest veterinary dispensaries to get their birds vaccinated to prevent the flu. “Our officials are sensitising poultry farm owners not to panic and resort to distress sale. We are conducting awareness campaign for farmers regarding the need for vaccinations,” Das added.