Bhopal. Fresh culling began Saturday in Burhanpur district of Madhya Pradesh in the wake of some poultry samples in neighboring Maharashtra testing positive for the deadly bird flu virus.
"Besides the culling of birds, compensation will also be paid to 323 affected poultry owners, while 536 houses will be disinfected," said Rajesh Rajora, commissioner of the state's veterinary services.Nearly 1,000 poultry birds were to be culled, the official said.
The five villages - Biroda, Bholawa, Garhtal, Pipalphata and Mukhawara - where the birds are being culled are within a radius of 10 km from Pipari village in Maharashtra's Jalgaon district where some poultry samples had tested positive.
Of the 3,509 samples from Madhya Pradesh tested at the Animal Disease Laboratory here, only one from Ichhapur village in Burhanpur district has tested positive for H5N1 virus on March 28, while the rest tested negative, the official said.
"Adequate precautions are being taken to prevent spread of avian influenza and transportation of poultry... movement of humans has been prohibited in a 10-km radius of Ichhapur town," Rajora said.
Rajora said that the quick response teams had fanned out in districts adjoining Burhanpur and in proximity to Jalgaon. The teams were also monitoring the remaining poultry in the areas close to Burhanpur.
Earlier this week, the administration has culled 6,000 chickens in some 20 villages of the state following detection of bird flu in a poultry sample from Ichhapur village, barely three kilometres from the Maharashtra border.
Edited IANS
