Bhubaneswar: Amidst the bird flu scare in several parts of the country, around 400 bird samples from Chilika have been sent for examination, Khordha Chief District Veterinary Officer Dr Bishnu Charan Sahoo said on Tuesday.
Apart from the bird samples of various migratory birds from Chilika, poultry samples from OUAT have also sent to the Animal Disease Research Institute at Phulnakhara for tests as a precautionary measure. Soon samples will be sent from Chilika’s Nalabana area, Sahoo added.
"We have set up task force which is usually kept ready as per a protocol. As a precautionary measure, we have been collecting samples from Chilika and nearby areas and the samples have already been sent for tests to Phulnakhara and will be sent to Kolkata," said Sahoo.
Already a training programme for poultry farmers is underway in Khordha, Bhubaneswar and other parts to educate them about what precaution should be undertaken in view of the bird flu outbreak, he added.
It is pertinent to mention here several dead migratory water birds in Himachal Pradesh have tested positive for avian influenza or bird flu. Himachal Pradesh is reportedly the fifth State in the country to report suspected cases of bird fly after Rajasthan, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana.
As per sources, around one lakh poultry birds have died in Barwala in the last few days in Haryana, while in Rajasthan, the death of a number of crows in Jhalawar has been linked to avian influenza.
Samples of some ducks in Kerala have also reportedly tested positive for the bird flu.
(Edited By Ramakant Biswas)