Chickens at govt farm culled, prohibition on sale in parts of districts in Jharkhand

A central team arrived in Bokar on Wednesday to assess the situation after samples of dead chickens at a government poultry farm in Bokar tested positive for avian influenza (H5N1).

Dr. Gimli Sharma of Animal Husbandry Department from New Delhi visited the farm at Lohanchal in Sector 12 of the district. The site was also visited by a team of Dr. CS Talkara, Dr. Amit Bhowmika and Dr. Shiva Kumara of the Central Surveillance Unit.

Deputy Commissioner Kuldeep Chaudhary issued a standard operating procedure regarding bird flu. He directed the officials concerned to declare the area (BS City Sector 12, Dundi Bagh, Tetulia, Ritudih, Ukrid, Lohanchal etc.) within 1 km from the poultry farm as infected zone and the area within 10 km as surveillance zone.

He also ordered a ban on the sale of chickens and ducks in these areas. Meanwhile, the remaining 103 chickens were euthanized and buried to prevent the spread of the disease.

Deputy Director of the District Department of Animal Husbandry Dr. Pradeep Kumar said that over 800 chickens have died since February 3. He said, “The team came from Kolkata and Delhi. He will submit a report to the Union Health Ministry and then what is required will be done.

Civil surgeon Abhay Bhusan Prasad said that if bird flu infects humans, its symptoms are common - cough, fever, muscle pain, sore throat, headache, difficulty breathing.