No threat of Bird Flu in TN : Official

Chennai, Mar 15 (UNI) The fresh outbreak of Bird flu at Jalgoan district of Maharashtra will not have any impact in Tamil Nadu, as all precautionary measures have been taken to prevent entry of the virus into the State.

Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences Director T N Palanivelu told UNI here today that the situation in Tamil Nadu is ''safe'' and there is no need for any apprehension about the consumption of chicken meat.

''We are safe...It (the bird flu) won't come to Tamil Nadu and it will be restricted to Maharashtra only'', he added.

All the poultry farms in the State, including in Namakkal, the largest producer of eggs in the country, were strictly adhering to the norms set by the State Government.

''The process is going on and the same precautions will continue''. All steps with regard to disinfecting the poultry farms were taken, Dr Palanivelu said.

Check posts were put in various parts of the State and all vehicles entering the State were disinfected to prevent entry of virus.

''Moreover all poultry farms are well educated in implementing the disinfection policy. It was being followed strictly'', he said.

He said so far more than 2000 blood samples of chickens collected from poultry farms across Tamil Nadu were sent for testing to a laboratory in Bhopal and none of them have tested positive.

''All the samples, including 575 taken recently, proved negative'', he said quoting the reports received from the lab.

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