Culling exercise of poultry continues in Manipur

Imphal, Aug 8 (UNI) The culling of poultry continued in Manipur to stop the spread of deadly avian influenza.

State Veterinary Department Director Th Dorendra today said so far about 3,31,606 birds were culled and 28,107 eggs have been destroyed.

The culling and mopping operation began on August 3 and several teams of Rapid Reaction Team (RRTs) were deployed for this.

The director said more than 100 labourers and experts were hired from others, like Malaria department, for cleaning and disinfecting purposes.

Surveillance in the radius of 5 to 10 km from Chingmeirong, the place where flu was detected, was in progress, the director said.

There were no reports of virus being transferred to humans, he said.

''We are prepared for any eventuality and special arrangements are made at Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) here and J N hospital in Imphal East,'' Mr Dorendra added.

The government had fixed a compensation for the poultry at a rate of Rs 10 per chick, Rs 40 for layers and Rs 30 for broilers.

UNI