Jalandhar lab collects 80 bird samples from Barwala

Sanjay Bumbroo

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, January 5

A team of Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (RDDL), Jalandhar, visited poultry farms in the Barwala area and collected 80 samples of birds to confirm the presence of avian influenza or bird flu.

Confirming the same, Deputy Commissioner Mukesh Kumar Ahuja said the team reached the Barwala area for re-sampling of birds and collected 80 samples. He said there were no confirmed reports of avian influenza yet. The chicken could have died due to Ranikhet or infectious laryngotracheitis.

Mukesh Kumar Ahuja said as per information, over 1.25 lakh birds had died in the past 10 days. They were awaiting report from the Jalandhar lab. They could say anything on the disease after receiving the report.

Meanwhile the Animal Husbandry and Dairying Department, Haryana, has issued an advisory regarding poultry and poultry products.

An official spokesperson for the department said as per the advisory, poultry and poultry products should be cooked at 70°C and consumed as usual with no fear of acquiring infection with avian influenza virus.

He said before consuming poultry, consumers should ensure that all parts of the poultry were fully cooked (no “pink” parts) and eggs, too, were properly cooked (no “runny” yolks).

He said four lakh poultry birds died in the past 10 days in 20 poultry farms with epicentres near Garhi Kutaha and the other near Jaloli village in the Barwala area in Panchkula district. There were a total of 77,87,450 birds in poultry farms in Panchkula district and the mortality of birds was 4,09,970.

The spokesperson said during food preparation, raw poultry and poultry products should never be allowed to mix with items eaten raw. Moreover, when handling raw poultry or raw poultry products, persons involved in food preparation should wash their hands thoroughly and clean and disinfect surfaces in contact with poultry products. Soap and hot water were sufficient for this purpose.