Bhubaneswar: Amid bird flu scare following the death of over 100 poultry birds in Khurda district, the Odisha government has asked people not to panic over the incident as the avian influenza virus test came negative in all five selected samples.
The Fisheries and Animal Resource Development Department in a statement said Thursday that people can consume chicken meat, eggs and other poultry products produced after properly cooking them.
Panic sparked after around 120 poultry birds were found dead at Govindpur village of Badaberana Gram Panchayat under Begunia block of Khurda district.
“A state level special supervisory team along with the district level rapid response teams rushed to the Govindpur village and took stock of the situation. Five of the dead birds have been taken to ADRI for laboratory investigation,” an official said Thursday. “All five samples have been tested negative for Avian Influenza virus based on the Avian Influenza virus antigen test. The rest of the dead birds were buried in deep burial method with proper disinfection measures,” the official added.
The special supervisory team and rapid response teams have sanitised the farm premises with proper application of disinfectants, the official informed. He also said that there is no other case of death of birds in the surrounding area of the farm. However, more samples have been taken from adjoining areas for testing.
