Jalandhar lab to collect fresh bird samples today

Amit Bathla

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, January 4

Two days after over 1 lakh birds were found dead under mysterious circumstances at poultry farms in Barwala, another team of Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Jalandhar, will arrive tomorrow to collect fresh samples of birds to confirm the presence of avian influenza or bird flu.

“These samples will be examined at the Jalandhar-based laboratory. Some samples will also be sent to High-Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal for confirmation if need be,” sources said. Confirming the development, Deputy Commissioner Mukesh Kumar Ahuja said the report of the samples collected from 80 birds, which were dispatched to Jalandhar, was still awaited.

Meanwhile, the Haryana Animal Husbandry Department will also convene a review meeting tomorrow to assess the situation.

Health Dept in action

The Panchkula Health Department has also sprung into action to tackle the possibility of bird flu or avian influenza behind “unusual high mortality” of chickens at Barwala poultry farms.

Local health officials have been put on alert to ensure surveillance of the affected pockets and test anyone showing symptoms of bird flu.

Bird flu or avian flu causes symptoms such as fever, cough and sore throat.

Meanwhile, at least 30 random samples of poultry workers have been collected and sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, to see if they are infected with any strain of bird flu.

“No flu-like symptoms have been found so far in workers engaged at poultry farms. It’s a positive sign. However, local health officials have been told to remain vigilant. If anyone develops influenza-like symptoms, he/she will be isolated. The movement of human beings to affected/suspected poultry farms has also been restricted,” said Civil Surgeon Dr Jasjeet Kaur.

Over 10,000 poultry workers are employed in over 110 farms in Barwala, Asia’s second-largest poultry belt with the daily production capacity of 1 crore eggs.

Poultry owners to ensure proper disposal of birds

Further, poultry farm owners have been asked to bury dead birds in deep pits with multiple layers of lime and soil – the standard practice followed during outbreaks.