Outbreak of bird flu confirmed in eastern part of Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Jan 5: An outbreak of Avian Influenza in the eastern part of the city has been confirmed, but the Karnataka government said the situation was fully under control and there were no reports of mortality in the state or any other part of the country.

The National Institute of High Security Animal diseases (NIHSAD) in Bhopal confirmed the outbreak in Dasarahalli area. An official release said birds in some poultry farms in the area started dying in December last year, triggering panic of avian bird flu, following which the area was quarantined and culling of birds was carried out.

Samples from a poultry meat shop were sent to NIHSAD which confirmed on December 30 last year that they tested positive for H5 strain of Avian Influenza virus, it said. NISHAD immediately informed the government of the results, it said.

The release said there are no reports of mortality from the State or any other part of the country and that the situation is fully under control. Principal Secretary, Animal Husbandry Department,Rajkumar Khatri told PTI that 940 birds have been culled so far in one km area around Dasarahalli by three Rapid Action Teams. Those involved in the culling process have also been quarantined as per the standard operating procedure, he said.

Khatri said they are acting as per the procedure and added that a three member central team also came to the area yesterday to supervise the process.

Surveillance in the 10 km zone is already on, he said, adding that Gram Panchayat members, private doctors, Asha workers and all three Public Health Centres covering this area had been informed and had started the awareness drive. He said the source has been traced to a poultry shop in Solur. Other samples showed negative reports.

PTI