Rumours on coronavirus severely impacting poultry sale in India, say officials

NEW DELHI: Rumours claiming spread of coronavirus through chickens, circulated widely through social media platforms such as, WhatsApp, has severely impacted sale of chickens in the country.

Chicken sales have come down by 50 percent, said an official from Agribusiness company Godrej Agrovet Limited.

Godrej Agrovet Managing Director B S Yadav said that sales have fallen to 40 million birds from 75 million in just four weeks.

Farmers have also been hurt as they are unable to recover costs earning Rs 30-Rs 35 per bird.

According to some reports, farmers have already started cutting down on production which might cost price hike in coming months.

It is important to note that bird flu is also a huge concern for many people.

In January this year, as many as 900 fowls were culled after the avian influenza virus was detected in a dead bird in Bangalore. "A chicken was found dead on December 29 at a chicken shop in (suburban) Dasarahalli area and it was confirmed after lab tests that the bird was infected with the H5N1 avian influenza virus," Bruhat Bengaluru Mahagara Palike (BBMP) Joint Commissioner S. garaju told IANS.

China has reported a deadly H5N1 bird flu outbreak among chickens in Hunan province, which lies on the southern border of Hubei, the epicenter of the rapidly spreading coronavirus that has killed 304 people.

More than 100,000 poultry have been culled in 10 provinces and cities of Vietnam where A/H5N6 and A/H5N1 bird flu broke out, Vietnam News Agency cited the country's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that between early January and February 24, Vietnam had 34 bird flu outbreaks with over 100,000 poultry culled, among which 29 were A/H5N6 and the rest five were A/H5N1 in 10 provinces and cities of Hanoi, Bac Ninh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Tra Vinh, Thai Binh, Binh Duong, Ninh Binh, Hai Phong, and Quang Ninh.

H5N1 virus-infected birds spread the virus through their saliva, mucus and faeces. Although the virus does not usually infect people, it can cause fever, diarrhoea, respiratory illnesses in some affected people.

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