No alarming signs in Olpad poultry scan

SURAT: A survey by Surat district health administration within 1km radius of Olpad taluka, where 21 chickens were found dead on Wednesday, has so far not found any poultry farm owner running fever or a dead chicken.
This has come as relief to the administration which hopes to cover the remaining 30% of the territory for the proposed survey on Friday, sources said, adding that there are no major commercial poultry farms in the area.
The survey on the first day covered 1,430 birds and 177 poultry farm owners of Olpad.
“We found no one ill or a dead bird during the survey on Thursday. These birds were kept in the backyard of their houses by the poultry farm owners,” said Dr Nilesh Patel, who is heading the survey.
District development officer K Rajesh said doctors and poultry farm owners have been asked to keep a close eye on anyone with symptoms of fever. The district administration has to be informed immediately about it.
Health officials suspect 21 chickens in Olpad had died either due to Ranikhet disease or food poisoning.
Meanwhile, Navsari Agriculture University is expected to give its report on the postmortem done on a few samples by Thursday evening.