The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Import of bird feed from Maharashtra stopped

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Feb 20, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Import of bird feed from Maharashtra stopped

Vani Doraisamy

No need for panic in the State, says official

CHENNAI: Following the outbreak of bird flu in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu has put in place safeguards to ensure the protection of its poultry stock.

Apart from bio-security shields around all 2,800 farms in the State, the import of poultry feed from Maharashtra has been stopped and vehicle checks intensified in transit zones across the State border. The State has been high on the bird flu radar alert as Namakkal, one of the country's largest poultry producing centres, is located here.

Check posts set up

"There is no need for panic in Tamil Nadu as there are no reports of poultry being infected with the H5N1 virus. However, all poultry farms and hatcheries have been asked to immediately mount a bioshield around their properties, including vehicle entry checks and quarantine, provision of safety gear to handlers and intensive disinfecting of premises. Vehicle check posts have been set up in various places such as Hosur, Katpadi and Thalawady. A protective shield has been thrown around migratory bird sanctuaries," Vishwanath Shegaonkar, State Animal Husbandry Secretary, said.

Blood samples taken from migratory bird sanctuaries had tested negative for the virus, he added. The State had adequate stocks of medical supplies.

As only 15 per cent of poultry in the State was bred through backyard farming and large hatcheries and poultry farms accounted for the rest, it was easy to put safety measures in place, Mr. Shegaonkar said.

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