Bird flu scare in Vadodara

Vadodara, Feb 26 (UNI) District authorities today directed the animal husbandry department to collect samples of birds after receiving a few complaints regarding mysterious deaths of over two dozen birds in the Hathikhana area of the city during the last fortnight.

Talking to UNI, Vadodara Collector Rajeev Topno said soon after a few local poultry traders informed about the unusual deaths of birds, senior animal husbandry department officials visited the locality yesterday.

''Even as the birds were seemed to have died of the common 'Ranikhet' disease, we don't want to take any risk,'' he said, adding since local residents were very much concerned following the incident, the department had been asked to collect samples for testing.'' While the small traders of the area claimed that a number of birds had also fallen sick, the Collector said no fresh deaths of birds had been reported from there during the last 24 hours and there was no panic situation as the authority had taken all preventive measures in the area.

Sources said besides restricting movement of poultry from the neighbouring Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, teams of veterinary doctors and livestock inspectors were regularly monitoring the health condition of the birds in all 44 poultry farms in the district and have taken possible precautionary measures against bird flu infection.

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