VIJAYAWADA: A high alert has been sounded in Andhra Pradesh following the outbreak of bird flu in Nellore district.
Around 10,000 poultry birds are believed to have died since the outbreak on Feb 7. Samples sent to National Centre for High Security Animal Diseases tested positive for the H5N1 variant.
District animal husbandry joint director B Maheshwarudu told TOI the affected villages, Chatagutla and Gummaladibba, are 44 km apart.There could be bird flu cases in villages between them too. Govt has banned chicken sale for three months within one-km radius of the farms where the disease is believed to have originated. In another 10 km radius, there will be no sale of chicken for three days from Friday.
Restrictions in place for poultry movement, says Nellore collector
Nellore collector M Hari Narayanan said, “There is a restriction on carrying poultry birds from one place to another for a fortnight.”
Animal husbandry officials said poultry birds may have contracted the virus from migratory birds that flock Pulicat lake in neighbouring Tirupati district. Spread over 759 sq km, Pulicat is the second largest brackish water lagoon in India after Chilka lake in Odisha and is known to attract thousands of birds. Surveillance has intensified on poultry farms in Nellore for possible symptoms of the disease.
Poultry in affected areas is being culled to prevent spread of the disease. According to animal husbandry officials, 721 rapid response teams have been formed to prevent the spread in the state.
Of these, 37 teams are working in Nellore.
