• Jharkhand on alert after bird flu outbreak in Ranchi, over 4,000 birds culled

    National
    Jharkhand on alert after bird flu outbreak in Ranchi, over 4,000 birds culled

    The sale of chicken, birds, and eggs has been banned in a 1-kilometre area from the place of outbreak of the avian flu.

    Digital Desk: The Jharkhand government on Wednesday sounded an alert after several cases of bird flu, commonly known as avian flu were reported in a state-run poultry farm in Ranchi.

    After the instances were verified at the Regional Poultry Farm in Hotwar, the state capital, over 4,000 birds were culled, and hundreds of eggs were also destroyed, according to officials. 

    The sale of chicken, birds, and eggs has been banned in a 1-kilometre area from the place of outbreak of the avian flu.

    An official government directive outlining Standard Operating Procedures said that the last of the chickens at the Regional Poultry Farm will be culled in the next few days and disposed of using scientific ways.

    Authorities have been instructed to carry out a survey up to one kilometer in radius from the epicentre to identify infections and begin culling. Additionally, they are to map the 10-kilometer area and designate it as a surveillance zone.

    "There will be a complete ban on buying and selling until further orders.

    The district administration team is going door-to-door in the 1 km of the affected area and surveying the availability of birds/eggs, etc. The houses/shops/carts, etc., which have the above material, will cooperate with the survey team and ensure that they give information about the birds/eggs, etc., and hand them over for culling," the order stated.

    Additionally, the state's Animal Husbandry Department has asked citizens to report any dead birds they come across.

    The state has been advised to take all necessary steps to stop its spread by the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying.