700 poultry livestock culled in Ranchi to prevent H5N1 spread

RANCHI: Animal husbandry officials of Ranchi district, along with the department of livestock production and management at Birsa Agricultural University (BAU), culled close to 700 birds, including chicken and guinea fowl, as part of the preventive measure after samples of dead birds on campus tested positive for avian influenza.
Talking to TOI, district animal husbandry officer Kavindra Prasad said the culled birds and destroyed birds were put in a seven-feet deep ditch which was sprayed with limestone powder in accordance with the disposal protocols for prevention of H5N1 spread. "Today we culled the birds. The sanitation of the enclosures with chemicals will be carried out tomorrow (Monday)," Prasad said.
"So far, this is a localised outbreak. We have not received reports of poultry birds dying with avian influenza symptoms anywhere in the city and the district yet," he said.
The animal husbandry department said though the sale and consumption of poultry items have been banned in a 1-km radius of BAU campus in Kanke for three weeks, the sale of chicken and eggs continued to be normal across the city on Sunday.
Samples of dead poultry birds from BAU returned positive for avian influenza from ICAR-NIHSAD laboratory in Bhopal on Feb 7. BAU officials did not respond to TOI's calls and messages when contacted.