Measures taken to control avian influenza in two Nellore villages

Nellore: In the wake of a local avian influenza outbreak in two villages in this district, an Animal Husbandry department official on Saturday said all measures have been taken to control the disease.

Nellore district Animal Husbandry joint director B Maheshwarudu said that containment, control and sanitation programmes have been undertaken in the epicentres of Chatagotla and Gummaladibba villages here.

"Police personnel closed chicken shops in a three-km radius of the 10-km surveillance area for three days in these two epicentres. We are taking all measures to control the disease," Maheswarudu told.

According to Maheswarudu, there are no fowls in the poultry farms of Chatagotla while 340 birds were culled in the poultry farms of Gummaladibba, followed by sanitisation of about 800 households in the latter on Friday and 400 on Saturday.

He noted that there is a temporary ban on rearing poultry in these two epicentres for three months and subsequently they will be allowed in smaller numbers of 10 or 20 birds.

After the death of some birds recently, the animal husbandry department sent some samples from these two villages to Bhopal-based National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases, where it has been confirmed that the fowls were infected with avian influenza.

Consequently, rapid response teams consisting of personnel drawn from departments of police, revenue, forest and animal husbandry were pressed into service. Also, localities in a 10-km radius from these villages were declared as a surveillance zone.

Authorities have also restricted the movement of all kinds of poultry products though no poultry deaths have been reported in the last four days.

As many as 37 rapid response teams have been kept on standby in Nellore district and 721 across the state with special focus on districts which have a higher number of poultry and waterbodies which attract migratory birds.

However, an official statement said that no unusual deaths of fowls occurred in any other part of the state in the three days prior to Friday.

Inputs from PTI