After the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases, Bhopal, confirmed the presence of H5N1 influenza virus in the samples of dead crows collected from Sambhar lake, the Rajasthan animal husbandry department sounded an alert on Tuesday.
JAIPUR: After the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases, Bhopal, confirmed the presence of H5N1 influenza virus in the samples of dead crows collected from Sambhar lake, the Rajasthan animal husbandry department sounded an alert on Tuesday.
Poultry farm owners have been instructed to take precautionary measures to prevent infection in chicken.
The department has instructed owners of poultry farms to regularly inspect and closely monitor the movement of wild birds, especially crows, which carry the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus.
‘H5N1 can be transmitted to humans from chicken’
An official of the state animal husbandry department said, “The H5N1 virus was detected in four samples. Though bird flu has not been reported in poultry yet, we have issued directions to farm owners to carry out regular cleaning.”A letter has been sent to all district collectors to take precautions and keep a strict vigil on poultry farms. Other than setting up a statewide control room, a rapid response team has also been constituted to monitor the situation.
The Sambhar lake touches three districts — Ajmer, Jaipur and Nagaur. Since many poultry farms exist in Ajmer and outer regions, the department has given instructions to take extra precaution to contain the virus.
“There are more than 1,500 poultry farms in the region. It is necessary to prevent the virus from entering the farms as H5N1 can be transmitted to humans through infected chicken,” a source said.
This is the second year in a row that the poultry farms are facing a setback due to the virus. In 2020, after the avian influenza subtype H5N8 was found in crows, the poultry business was badly affected.
A poultry farm owner near Sambhar, who didn’t want to be named, said, “The administration has informed us that if the bird flu is found to have infected fowls reared for eggs and meat, they will be culled and we would be compensated. However, it will be a huge loss for us as the compensation is always inadequate.”
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEMail
