SAS Nagar, January 21:Culling, the mainstay of stopping thespread of the virus will commence in the two affected poultry farms ofDerabassi on January 22, informed Girish Dayalan, Deputy Commissioner, SASNagar after National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD),Bhopal’s confirmation of bird flu strain in the tissue samples forwarded forascertaining the cause of the death of the birds.
Twenty five teams comprising of five members each wouldconduct the culling operation in the Alfa and Royal Poultry Farms in Derabassi.Culling of over 50,000 birds is expected to be undertaken at the affectedepicenter.
Requisite safety gear including the PPE kits and faceshields as well as the JCB machines have been provided to the culling teams andadequate quarantine arrangement is in place.
In the meanwhile, “the ten kilometer radius of the affectedepicenter has been made the containment area to put a tab on any commercialpoultry farming activity being conducted therein”, informed Girish Dayalan.Surveillance and sampling has been stepped up and two Rapid Response Teams(RRTs) have been deployed to keep a tab on any deaths ofbirds(crows/migratory/wild birds) in the district.
The virus involved in the Avian influenza is zoonotic; thepathogen can be transmitted from animals to humans as per preliminary reports.So, to detect symptoms of plausible infection in humans, the bird handlers inthe affected poultry farms would be examined by the doctors for detection ofsymptoms, if any.