Bird flue scare: In the wake of bird flu scare, the Telangana government issued an advisory and asked for statewide monitoring to track any spread of the infection, while the Centre will notify the World Organisation for Animal Health about the outbreak. Moreover, the Telangana government has heightened vigilance, setting up check-posts along the Andhra Pradesh border and turning back poultry vehicles.
In the meantime, Telangana Animal Husbandry Department Principal Secretary Sachi Ghosh stressed the importance of awareness and precautions. In the wake of these developments, the price of chicken has dropped from Rs 250 to Rs 150, affecting the poultry industry.
After the detection of Avian Influenza (H5N1) at two locations—Velpuru in West Godavari district and Kanuru Agraharam in East Godavari district—Animal Husbandry officials in Andhra Pradesh have begun culling birds at two affected poultry farms.
Animal Husbandry Department Director Damodar Naidu stated that the ICAR–National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) detected the viral disease from the samples recently sent for testing.
"We are culling birds at these two poultry farms. If we receive reports from other locations, we will monitor the situation and take necessary action. So far, around 4,500 birds have been culled," Naidu told PTI.
Declaring a 1 km radius as a red zone, he advised people to avoid entering the affected poultry farms. Furthermore, he emphasised that all chicken shops within the red zones have been ordered to shut down.
Over the past 45 days, nearly four lakh chickens have perished in the affected areas, prompting the department to send samples to NIHSAD for testing.
In a recent letter to the Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh, the Government of India’s (GoI) Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying directed the state to execute control and containment operations as per the Action Plan of Animal Husbandry for Prevention, Control, and Containment of Avian Influenza (2021).
"Necessary actions, as outlined in the Action Plan of Animal Husbandry, must be completed immediately by the state government, including the declaration of infected and surveillance areas," the letter stated.