04 Dec 2008
NAMAKKAL: Even as the deadly pathogenic H5n1 bird flu virus outbreak has reportedly spread to new areas in Assam, egg prices fell despite hectic market intervention by the big players in poultry industry.
The National Egg Coordination Council (NECC) was forced on Wednesday to reduce the price of an egg to Rs 2.00 as against the December 1 price of Rs 2.19. It is certainly not business as usual even though the poultry owners put up a brave face and officials maintained that tackling bird flu was a routine matter.
However, admitting that the bird flu outbreak in Assam was one of the major reasons for the drop in demand and consequent sharp slide in egg price, R Nallathambi of Tamil Nadu Poultry Owners Association said that rains in many parts of the country was also a contributing factor.
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He added that demand would peak this winter.
On the industry’s preparedness in the wake of the fourth Avian influenza outbreak in the country, Nallathambi said: “The Namakkal poultries were sophisticated and unlike the backyard type poultries in the North. As many as 12 vaccines were administered to birds that live to a maximum period of 72 weeks. Modern bio-security measures were being taken to prevent any outbreak.
Task force meeting: According to Sivanathan, Joint Director Animal Husbandry, Wednesday’s district task force meeting revolved around disease surveillance and awareness campaign.
The bio-security measures handbooks have run out of stock and new copies have been ordered and distributed to the farmers.
The veterinary assistants all over the district have been told to sound an alert in case of unusual symptoms among the birds or events of mass mortality in any part of the district.
Till date no unusual deaths has been reported in the region and no sample blood tests were being done at the Avian disease laboratory here, said Sivanathan.
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