Bird Flu Outbreak: Assam Govt Imposes Temporary Ban on Import of Poultry

GUWAHATI: The Assam state government has temporarily banned poultry import through the western border of the State as a precautionary measure in view of the outbreak of avian flu.

A notification from the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary department it reads "In view of the outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian influenza in some of the States of the country which is a highly contagious disease having zoonotic potential or causing a huge loss in terms of mortality and trade of poultry, Governor of Assam is pleased to impose a temporary ban on entry of poultry as a precautionary measure through the western border of the States in the interest of preventing the escalation of the disease to Assam and the other North Eastern States."

Meanwhile, this order comes into force with immediate effect and will remain in force until further order.

Speaking to the sentinel, Manoj Saikia, Chairman of Assam Live Stock and Poultry Corporation has said that no strain of bird flu has been found in Assam so far and there is no need to panic or worry right now. 

Assam imports about 8-10 tonnes of poultry from states like West Bengal and Bihar while exports a lot of its poultry to neighbouring states like Meghalaya and Mizoram therefore the state has to import from other states to meet the state's demand. 

It is to be mentioned that the State animal husbandry and veterinary department have further asked all its district officers to carry out selected virological surveillance of wild migratory birds in nesting areas as well as carry out surveillance in wet and live poultry markets, poultry supply areas, with a high duck population, water bodies where wild and domestic birds congregate.

Notably, there is no direct evidence that Avian Influenza or H5N1 viruses can be transmitted to humans via the consumption of contaminated poultry products. H5N1 is a type of influenza virus that causes "highly infectious, severe respiratory disease in birds called avian influenza", according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

In Kerala, around 1,700 ducks have died due to the flu in Alappuzha and Kottayam. After reports of outbreak emerged from the two districts in Kerala, the authorities ordered the culling of ducks, hens, crows and other birds within a 1-kilometre radius from the affected area.

In Madhya Pradesh however, the flu is predominantly seen among crows as it resulted in the deaths of scores of them in Indore. Himachal Pradesh's Pong Dam Lake in Kangra district saw a massive loss of migratory birds in the recent outbreak. About 1,800 migratory birds, most of them bar-headed geese, were found dead in the lake sanctuary so far.

In Rajasthan, 170 new bird deaths were reported as of Monday in addition to the earlier count of 425 dead crows, herons and other birds.

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