Kerala - Kollam   

Bird flu: serum samples taken from poultry farms

Staff Reporter

Samples will be sent to the Animal Disease Investigating Office

PREVENTIVE STEP: Veterinary doctors collecting serum samples from a poultry farm in Kollam on Tuesday.

KOLLAM: In full protective gear, veterinary doctors launched a serum-collection exercise from poultry farms here on Tuesday in the wake of the bird flu threat.

The collection is being made at the rate of ten samples per 1,000 birds.

The serum sample collection follows a decision taken at a meeting of the district-level high power committee on Monday for organising contingency and preventive measures to combat the bird flu threat.

Samples are being collected from all private and departmental farms in the district plus the 10 egg layer nurseries in the city. The samples will be stored in leak proof containers, cold chain maintained and sent to the Chief Animal Disease Investigating Office at Palode.

Meanwhile, there has been a major dip in chicken consumption following the alert on bird flu.

Though the price of undressed birds stood at Rs.52 per kg, poultry stalls in main markets in the city did not have any stock. Stall owners said that they did not purchase stock as they anticipated that sales would drop considerably. In fact, on Monday and Tuesday there was hardly anyone to purchase chicken.

Import of chicken, both broiler and layers from neighbouring States, has also registered a drop since Monday. Poultry farm and stall owners said that they were hopeful that the situation would improve in two or three days.

"Only precautionary measures are being taken in Kerala and there has been no reports of bird flu either in Kerala or the two States from where poultry is being imported," the stall owners said.

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