Bhubaneswar-Bird flu battle intensifies #H5N1 #BIRDFLU

Bird flu battle intensifies Centre orders culling, zoo wary

BIBHUTI BARIK

Migratory birds at Ekamrakanan in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati Bhubaneswar, Jan. 17: Mutton has replaced chicken on the menus of carnivores at Nandankanan zoo and the Centre has ordered culling of poultry birds in and around Bahanada village in Mayurbhanj district. The authorities are leaving nothing to chance. While Nandankanan Zoological Park and Chandaka Dampara Sanctuary authorities are taking precautionary measures with the bird flu threat looming large over the city, the Union agriculture ministry this evening ordered the culling of poultry birds within a 3km radius of Bahanada village under Betnoti block in Mayurbhanj district. The culling process will start around 7am tomorrow under the supervision of three senior officials of the fisheries and animal resource development (FARD) department. More than 5,000 poultry birds will be killed. Apart from changing the carnivores’ menu at the city zoo, surveillance has been mounted to check possible signs of sickness among the more than 30,000 migratory birds currently staying at three water bodies at the Chandaka sanctuary. At Nandankanan, cleansing foot baths of potassium permanganate solutions have been placed near the enclosures of animals and birds to prevent contamination. The spraying of anti-bacterial chemicals in the park has begun. The zoo authorities are being extra cautious because more than 10 egrets were found dead near its boundary wall yesterday. Though officials attributed the deaths to possible poisoning or some other disease, local residents alleged that some of these birds had flu-like symptoms. Zoo director Sudarshan Panda said: “A team of zoo employees, under the leadership of a senior veterinary officer, has been deployed to check every bird on the campus. The team is on high alert and any unusual sight or a diseased animal will be reported so that we can ensure quick action. We are coordinating with experts from the FARD department and the College of Veterinary Sciences under the Odisha University of Agriculture Technology.’’ Assistant director Kamal Lochan Purohit said: “Since most of the birds are inside enclosures, there is less chance of them getting infected by the avian influenza H5N1 virus. But to keep the zoo environment clean, we have spread wet gunny bags washed with anti-bacterial chemicals so that there is no question of bacterial or viral contamination.’’ Chandaka Dampara Sanctuary authorities have also mounted surveillance within the sanctuary area as three major water bodies — Ekamrakanan lake, the river bed of Mahanadi and the Dampara ghat are currently playing host to more than 30,000 migratory birds. “Though the number of birds this year is less than last year’s 35,000, the arrival of a central team at Chilika lake to investigate any link of bird flu with the migratory birds has prompted us to start a similar probe. There are more than 8,000 birds only at Ekamrakanan lake. We cannot prevent or stop the spread, but can ensure better surveillance,’’ said divisional forest officer of the sanctuary Akshay Kumar Patnaik. The Chandaka Dampara Sanctuary near the state capital, which has a number of small and large water bodies, attracts many migratory birds. The FARD department has alerted its rapid response teams to step up surveillance near all the 12 major water bodies of the state. FARD sources said while the first H5N1 positive sample from Kerang in Khurda district came from an area that falls in the route of the migratory birds heading to Chilika lake, the second positive sample from Betnoti in Mayurbhanj is also close to a water body. Crow sample positive Highly-placed sources in the Fisheries and Animal Resources Development (FARD) Department said today that a crow sample sent from Keranga in Khurda district has been found to be infected with avian bird flu virus. Though the confirmatory result from the Bhopal-based High Security Animal Disease Laboratory is yet to arrive, the provisional report supports the fact that Keranga was also the epicenter of the crow deaths in the region as reported by The Telegraph on January 16 (Crow death mystery irks Odisha citizens). Though the FARD Department has admitted death of over 1,400 crows in the state, unconfirmed sources put it in thousands. Not only crows, but also other birds like pigeons, cattle egrets and bats are dying across the state. Tara Sankar Pan, central observer for the Keranga region, who is a deputy director in Institute of Animal Health and Veterinary Biologicals, Calcutta, said ``the positive H5N1 strain detected from a crow sample could be a serious indication, but still no one is sure from where the avian influenza virus originated from. Already a similar crow sample has been found positive in Jharkhand two weeks ago.’’  http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120118/jsp/odisha/story_15020280.jsp