Bhubaneswar: Following reports of bird flu spreading in various parts of the country, Khordha Chief District Veterinary Officer Bishnu Charan Sahoo Tuesday sent around 400 bird samples from Chilika and Bhubaneswar for examination.
Sahoo in a statement said, “Apart from bird samples of various migratory birds from Chilika, poultry samples from OUAT have also been sent to the Animal Disease Research Institute at Phulnakhara for tests as a precautionary measure. Soon samples will be sent from Chilika’s Nalabana area as well.”
“We have set up a task force which is usually kept ready as per protocol. As a precautionary measure, we have been collecting samples from Chilika and nearby areas and the samples have already been sent for tests to Phulnakhara and will be sent to Kolkata,” Sahoo added.
Already a training programme for poultry farmers is underway in Khordha, Bhubaneswar and other parts of the state to educate them about necessary precautions to be undertaken in view of the bird flu outbreak, he added.
Notably, several dead migratory waterbirds in Himachal Pradesh have tested positive for avian influenza or bird flu. Himachal Pradesh is reportedly the fifth State in the country to have reported suspected cases of bird flu after Rajasthan, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana.
PNN