Bird Flu in AP Suspected to Be Spread From Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is majorly facing the problem of bird flu for their poultries.
Vijayawada:Hundreds of poultry farms have been affected by the bird flu disease caused by the Avian Influenza virus, in villages of Sodam mandal and Karvetinagaram located in Annamayya and Chittoor districts in Andhra Pradesh.
It is suspected that the virus has been transmitted from Tamil Naidu in the form of feed and other means through vehicles. Animal husbandry director Dr Damodar Naidu said, “We are suspecting the transmission of bird flu virus to our poultry farms from Tamil Nadu. We are able to control its spread effectively. No fresh cases have been reported.”
The AP animal husbandry authorities inspected the infected poultry farms and found that the farmers are bringing all the requisites to raise the poultry birds, like feed, medicines and even veterinary doctors, from parts of Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu is majorly facing the problem of bird flu for their poultries.
The feed being transported in lorries from Tamil Nadu are taken directly to the farms in AP. A poultry shed is built at a length of 200 feet with partitions in between, making the birds more vulnerable to catch the virus.
Veterinarians from the infected areas in Tamil Nadu visit the poultry farms in AP. Chances are that they unknowingly carry the virus with them, and that these could infect the birds in the course of the treatment.
The farms located in Karvetinagaram became more vulnerable. It is located only three to four km away from the Tamil Nadu border.
Moreover, the farmers are found to be not going for regular immunisation of birds. Immunisation makes them resistant to such a virus. They are also not complying with the safety norms as regards regular maintenance of the poultry farms in terms of sanitation etc.
Following the confirmation of the bird flu by the Bhopal-based National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases for the poultry birds located in farms at Ammagarpalli and Puttavaripalli in Sodam mandal in Annamayya district, the authorities have culled nearly 3,300 infected birds. They are awaiting the test report for the birds in the farms located at Karvetinagaram mandal in Chittoor district, so as to go ahead with culling in case they are infected with bird flu.
Meanwhile, the authorities in both the districts have initiated a series of steps to ensure the farmers strictly enforce bio-security measures at the poultry farms; that no authorised person is allowed to move near the farms; and that a lot of tom-tom has been carried out to advise the people to avoid going near the infected farms.
The AP animal husbandry authorities say they have not received any report of migratory birds getting infected with the bird flu. No bird sanctuary in the state has complained of the virus. The infected poultry farms are not in the path of migratory birds, they say.
