Bird flu alert sounded in Amethi

The threat of a bird flu outbreak looms large on Amethi as birds have been dying mysteriously in the district for almost two weeks now.

A team of the district veterinary department was dispatched to the village after a frantic call from a villager who collected samples from various villages which were then sent to Bhopal. The samples tested positive for bird flu.

However, District Veterinary Officer, Doctor Vinod Kumar, refused to come clean on the findings of the reports.

"We received a call informing us that birds were dying in a village after which a team was rushed to the spot which found out that birds were actually dying, said Kumar, while adding "this matter is somewhat confidential" when asked about inquiry report.

Kumar added so far only a limited area search has been conducted in which two villages have been found to be infected and surveys were on to take a stock of number of birds in each village.

Nine rapid response teams are currently culling birds and burying them in order to contain the spread of avian flu which can also spread to humans. These operations are being conducted over night to minimise exposure to people.

A resident, Inaamullah, said the villagers got suspicious when their hens started dying and animals and other birds which consumed their corpses too died.

"Fifteen days back, in the neighbouring village all hens died. Crows and dogs, which consumed the dead birds, also died. Even today two crows died and this team of officials has been conducting checks for the last 15 days," he said.

Poultry farms in the district are also being surveyed.

Reportedly, an alert has been sounded in the state with chief secretary Alok Ranjan issuing an advisory to all divisional commissioners and district magistrates to take all precautions for prevention of the flu.

According to reports, the government also plans to set up a 24 hours helpline to help resolve people's queries with regard to the flu while rapid response teams will be kept on standby to ensure speedy culling and disinfection of affected areas.