Punjab Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan on Friday directed the Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries department to keep a strict vigil over the Avian influenza known as bird flu in common parlance.
These directions came after a suspected case of bird flu reported at Evergreen Poultry Farm of village Behra in District SAS Nagar.
Reviewing the situation, the Chief Secretary asked the Animal Husbandry department to ensure proper disposal of carcass and further increase surveillance around water bodies, live bird markets, zoos and poultry farms.
After recieving the report of suspected case from Northern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (NRDDL), Jalandhar, ACS Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries Mr. Vijay Kumar Janjua apprised the Chief Secretary that the Department has sent the sample to National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), Bhopal for confirmation.
He further informed that culling of infected birds is underway at Alpha Poultry Farm of village Behra and 5-member based 25 teams of the Animal Husbandry Department has culled the 11200 infected birds on first day and the culling would be started at Royal Poultry Farm located in the same village in coming days. The teams engaged in culling operations has been provided with personal protective equipments.
Urging the people to follow the guidelines issued by the Animal Husbandry Department, the Chief Secretary said that chicken and other poultry products are safe to consume when cooked properly and do not eat raw poultry meat or eggs.
She asked the department to ensure standard protocols for Bio-security measures followed strictly by the Poultry farmers and attending staff should be provided with protective gears. She also instructed the concerned departments to build awareness among people and avoid the spread of misinformation.