Imphal, July 31 (IANS) The drive against avian influenza in Manipur is nearing completion with close to 150,000 poultry culled in the past six days and no fresh reports of the virus spreading in other parts of the state, officials said Tuesday.
“The operation has been quite successful and maybe in a day or two we would be able to wind up the drive. There are no fresh reports of the virus spreading in other parts of the state,” K. Gopal, nodal officer of the Animal Disease Control Programme in Manipur, told IANS.
The culling of an estimated 160,000 birds was being carried out since Thursday in a five km radius around the farm at Chenngmeirong near state capital Imphal from where the deaths were reported. There are an estimated 800 poultry farms in the area.
“Maybe the overall count of birds might exceed compared to our estimated target of 160,000 as many households are bringing their poultry voluntarily,” Gopal said.
About 34 Rapid Response Teams with five members in each group led by a veterinarian are involved in the culling with laboratory tests earlier confirming the dead birds had H5NI strains of the avian flu, which are highly infectious.
Health officials said there were no immediate reports of humans contracting the virus although a massive surveillance campaign was on to ensure the safety of locals. More than 200,000 people have undergone health checkups so far.