10 red junglefowl fall dead at the Kanpur Zoo, raising alarms about bird flu in the city

The zoological garden of Kanpur city is alarmed by the death of 10 red junglefowl, amid the spread of the avian flu in the country. As per reports, about 3 birds fell dead on Thursday at the city zoo hospital and an immediate sanitisation drive was carried out here to eliminate the possibility of any infection within the premises.

Alert and prompt response

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The Zoo authorities expressed shock at the situation, however, an alert and prompt response were issued, in compliance to the alert which has been issued by the Centre in view of the epidemic infection spread in several states. While the aviary and the walk-in aviary were completely sealed, a massive and thorough sanitation drive was carried out within the premises. The field of all action, the zoo hospital was sprayed with germicide, where the vets wore PPE kits while conducting the necropsy on Thursday. Two out of these carcasses have been sent to the National Institute of High-Security Animal Disease in Bhopal to check if the birds have died due to the infection of the H5N8 virus. Besides this, the health of all in-house birds is under constant observation, read reports. For round the clock surveillance, the zoo authorities have employed CCTV cameras at the aviary. In addition to this, the zoo authorities have collected swab samples of different Aves species and sent them to Bhopal to check the prevalence of infection, which is a rising threat to the health of both, animals and humans.

Precautionary Measures at Kanpur Zoo

The Chief Veterinary Officer and Additional Director of Animal Husbandry rushed to the Kanpur Zoo, to inspect the on-ground situation and issue streamlined precautionary measures with respect to the same. As per reports, these authorities not only discussed possible avenues which could have lead to the death of the junglefowls and advised the zoo officials to take biosecurity precautions, among other safety measures.

The zoo has decided to conduct a special training staff for its staff, which will help curb the spread of infection to other hosts within the aviary. The Wildlife expert and former zoo vet have stated that all birds are being given preventive medication and immunity boosters as defence against the infection incubation.

Poultry sales crash in Uttar Pradesh

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Though the government and the department of animal husbandry has stated that there needs to be no panic over the consumption of poultry as all necessary precautions are being taken care of, the state has witnessed a crash in the sales of the chickens and eggs.

In a week's time, the prices of chicken have depreciated by 22% to 30% as the people have been discouraged to buy chicken. On the other hand, this reduction in prices has led to people second-guessing the quality and health of the chicken. Similarly, the sale of eggs has also witnessed a dip. The reports of the avian flu have lead to a noticeable decline in egg sales by 16% to 25%.

State capital Lucknow has been compartmentalized into 9 blocks by the animal husbandry department, in order to ease the job of surveillance. This vigil is being maintained to administer the health of the meat being sold in the market, nodal officer of the department informed, reassuring the people about the consumption of poultry. He also added that people only need to ensure that the meat is properly cooked and the eggs properly boiled.

In the avenue of a possible spread, the Lucknow Chief Medical Officer has been directed to store Tamiflu in abundance. Zila Panchayat officials have also been alerted, and officials at the forest department have been further asked to maintain surveillance over the health of the birds.