Bird flu scare: Govt bans import of poultry in JK

Srinagar: As Himachal Pradesh and other states of India reports cases of bird flu, the government on Thursday banned the import of poultry till 14 January.
A government order reads “In the wake of the spread of bird flu in neighbouring states of J&K as a measure of abundant precaution and in view of the declaration of whole J&K as ‘Controlled Area’ for bird flu disease. Government of UT J&K imposes complete ban on import of live birds including poultry and unprocessed poultry meet for any purpose into Jammu & Kashmir with immediate effect, till 14-01- 2021.”
“The decision will be reviewed based on the evolving situation,” the order reads.
After the suspicious cases of bird flu reported in J&K, an alert was sounded in the region and samples of birds were collected to check whether flu has penetrated the erstwhile state.
Besides sounding alert, monitoring committees lead by district chief animal husbandry officers have been constituted to keep a vigil.
Moreover, doctors in J&K also cautioned people not to eat raw poultry and eggs, however, cooked poultry is safe to use.
They also advised that people associated with slaughtering, de-feathering and eviscerating of birds must take precaution to avoid any contraction of the virus.
Meanwhile, officials said that there are no reports of an outbreak of Avian influenza in the valley till now.
“Rapid response teams as per GoI guidelines are being established besides that advisory to the common public and farmers are also being issued,” they said