Bhubaneswar: With the Rapid Response Teams of the Odisha Veterinary and Health department swinging into actions, more than 19,000 chickens have been culled in the Pipili area of Odisha’s Puri district since Saturday with a view to contain the H5N1 strain of avian influenza or bird flu from spreading.
On Monday, senior Health department officials said that they have intensified surveillance and preventive measures are being taken to prevent the outbreak of bird flu in other parts of the state.
The Health department pressed the Rapid Response Teams into action soon after mass deaths of chickens at a poultry farms in Pipili were reported. A team of veterinary doctors collected samples of the sick chickens and sent them for testing to Vellore.
Meanwhile, Odisha Health Director Bijay Mohapatra said on Monday that bird flu was not new and they have already taken preventive measures. “Our aim is to sanitise the area where there has been infection and the process has already started. As it is a viral infection, we are focusing on detection through surveillance,” said Mohapatra.
He added that the department is alert and keeping surveillance in other places as well.
