COVID-19: Vice Prez asks ICMR to allay people's fears on consumption of chicken, eggs

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu asked the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Friday to issue an advisory to allay the concerns of people on consumption of chicken and eggs in the wake of fears about the impact of coronavirus on the poultry industry.

Dissemination of correct information was necessary to assure both consumers and sellers, Naidu said.

A statement from the Vice President's Secretariat said Naidu spoke with the ICMR brass after a delegation of the All India Poultry Breeders' Association apprised him on Friday of the problems being faced by the poultry sector in the wake of fears about the impact of the novel coronavirus on the industry.

The delegation claimed that "false news" on the threat to the poultry industry was triggering panic among people and had resulted in a massive reduction in consumption of poultry products, the statement said.

"The Vice President also spoke to the Director-General of the Indian Council of Medical Research, Balram Bhargava, and advised the ICMR to issue an advisory to allay the fears of people on consumption of chicken and eggs," it added.

Quoting American biologist Bruce Lipton, Naidu said the "fear of coronavirus is more deadly than the virus itself".

He asserted that "all forms of rumour-mongering must stop and efforts must be made to restore the industry to normalcy", the statement said.

Noting that millions of farmers were dependent on the poultry sector, especially in rural India, Naidu said the sector had a key role in creating secondary income for farmers, apart from providing nutritional security to people.