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Yet another place in NTR district, Deeplanagar in A. Konduru mandal, has reported mass mortality of 3,000 broiler birds, and the lab reports have confirmed the cause of their death as H5N1 virus that causes bird flu.
After the confirmation was received from the ICAR-National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases on February 22, Saturday, District Collector G. Lakshmisha said there was no need for alarm, and that Rapid Response Teams and officials of the Revenue, Panchayat Raj, and Animal Husbandry departments were taking all measures to prevent its spread.
Reviewing the situation during a district coordination meeting in Vijayawada, the Collector said, while the spread was under control, officials continued to be on alert and were taking all precautionary measures.
“Deeplanagar has been declared a red zone and 10 km within the hotspot as a surveillance zone. As per the Standard Operating Measures, we have safely disposed of the birds and have also begun culling of backyard poultry, around 270 in number, within the red zone, which is a km from the hotspot,” said M. Hanumantha Rao, Joint Director, Animal Husbandry, NTR district.
With the latest confirmation, the number of birds that died of bird flu in the district stands at around 10,000. Last week, Anumollanka, a village in Gampalagudem mandal, had reported death of 7,000 broiler birds.
The Collector asked officials to bring to his notice if they got reports about unusual death of birds in the forests in the district.
Published – February 23, 2025 05:00 am IST
