Dead chicks dumped along highway test positive for avian influenza

Ambika Sharma
Tribune News Service
Solan, January 18

Hundreds of dead chicks dumped along the Parwanoo-Solan section of the national highway from January 6-8 tested positive for avian influenza, Bhopal’s National Institute of High Security Animal Disease said in its report on Monday.

Virender Kanwar, minister for animal husbandry, confirmed the news and said avian influenza has been detected in the dead chicks dumped along the Parwanoo-Solan highway, according to the report the state government received on Monday.

 “In view of this the ban on importing poultry items from neighbouring states has been extended for another week.  Surveillance has been stepped up and the officials were keeping a strict vigil on the poultry farms in the district” added Kanwar.

“Since the report of poultry birds within the district has been found negative there was no cause of panic. Requisite measures like vigil on the poultry items was already underway by the officials” said Kanwar.

 The dead chicks were found dumped near Chakki Ka Mor, near the railway track at Jabli and outside a tunnel near Kumarhatti. They have already been buried as per the safety protocol.

Officials of the animal husbandry department said since the source of the dumped chicks, which were brought here from outside, has not been detected so far, little could be done.

Notably, the lab report of a Jalandhar-based regional disease diagnostic lab had already detected avian influenza in these chicks last week. The samples were sent to the Bhopal lab for further confirmation. 

Two weeks since the incident, police are still investigating how poultry came to be dumped on the side of the road.  Officials of the animal husbandry department have said that the poultry dumped were white strains and could have come from outside the state.