Punjab govt issues advisory for surveillance of poultry farms amid bird flu scare
1 min read . Updated: 06 Jan 2021, 02:07 PM IST
Premium- Punjab Animal Husbandry Director Harbinder Singh Kahlon said an advisory has been issued for 'surveillance of commercial poultry farms and backyard poultry farms to find any unusual mortality in birds'
Amid a bird flu scare in the country, the authorities in Punjab on Wednesday alerted officials to keep tabs on any unusual deaths of migratory and poultry birds in the state.
They said no case of bird flu has been reported so far in Punjab.
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Punjab Animal Husbandry Director Harbinder Singh Kahlon said an advisory has been issued for "surveillance of commercial poultry farms and backyard poultry farms to find any unusual mortality in birds".
The advisory has been shared with all 22 deputy directors of the department to ensure the regular visit of field staff to commercial and backyard poultry farms in the state, he added.
In case any "unusual mortality" in poultry birds is found, samples will be sent to the Northern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (RDDL), Jalandhar, to ascertain the cause, the officials said.
Similarly, the Department of Forests and Wildlife Preservation has also issued an advisory for maintaining extra vigil around lakes and wetlands in the state, they said.
A large number of migratory birds such as gulls, reeve, etc arrive at Harike Pattan in Tarn Taran every year. Other wetlands in the state are in Gurdaspur, Rupnagar and Nangal.
Protocols have also been issued for the collection of samples in case any migratory bird is found dead, the officials further said, adding that all possible precautions were being taken.
Meanwhile, Karnataka is also on high alert to contain the spread of avian influenza as it blocked the entry of poultry and other birds from Kerala on Wednesday.
The district administration at the Bodhi check post in the Kote taluk of Mysore-Kerala Border blocked the entry of poultry from Kerala following the bird flu outbreak in the state, informed Mysore District Collector Rohini Sindhuri.
The Centre has already issued a bird flu alert to states after cases of H5N1 avian influenza were reported from several places across India. The government has asked the states to take all possible steps to contain the spread of bird flu "on an urgent basis". It has warned that there is a possibility of bird flu spreading to humans and domesticated animals.
