Ranga Reddy district reports bird flu at poultry farm; officials begin culling, advise safety measure

Hyderabad: Following the detection of bird flu at a poultry farm in Batasingaram village of Abdullapurmet mandal in Telangana’s Ranga Reddy district, health and animal husbandry authorities have issued a high alert.

Bird flu, which spread quickly in the Telugu States during February, has receded slightly. It is currently thriving again. The outbreak of avian flu has created a commotion, particularly in Telangana. In February, the first confirmed bird flu case was reported in the Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district.

The virus spread has become a concern among the poultry farm owners, especially in the Hyderabad and Rangareddy districts, as well as in the surrounding Nalgonda and Yadadri Bhuvanagiri districts. Bird flu, which recently killed thousands of birds on poultry farms in Pochampally, Choutuppal, and Chityala mandals, has now spread to Abdullapurmet mandal in Ranga Reddy District.

Culling birds as a precaution

To prevent the virus from spreading, officials have taken emergency measures to safely slaughter and bury dead hens.

“A farm with 36,000 chickens was found to have an avian influenza infection, and thousands of the birds had already perished. There were just 17,521 live chickens on the property as of Thursday. These are being culled and buried as a precaution. As a precaution, all chicken farms within a kilometre of Batasingaram would have their birds killed and buried,” said Ranga Reddy District Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Officer Dr Babu Beri.

To keep an eye out for possible spread, samples are being taken from chicken farms within 10 km. Medical teams have been called in and are scouring the village from home to house, he said. A team led by District Surveillance Officer Dr Ambika and Abdullapurmet PHC Medical Officer Dr Prasannalakshmi is looking for signs of avian flu in humans in the area. Residents who exhibit symptoms of disease are being screened, and information is being gathered.