More than 3,400 fowl have been culled in Meghalaya following the outbreak of the H1N1 virus or bird flu in East Garo Hills district. The culling, begun last Friday, will continue until this weekend.
“Rapid response teams and medical officers hygienically culled 3,026 fowl until last
(Sunday) evening within three kilometers of the epicenter,” said district deputy commissioner Pravin Bakshi. He added that 21 villages around the epicenter – a government-owned poultry farm in Williamnagar town – were sanitized as a precautionary measure.
Bhopal-based High Security Animal Disease Laboratory confirmed bird flu at the Williamnagar farm January 11 after testing blood samples. Following confirmation, the district authorities targeted some 24,000 fowls within a 10 km radius of the farm.
Till Sunday, the district authorities paid compensation of Rs. 311,975 to poultry farmers after it enhanced compensation from the New Delhi-specified Rs. 50 to Rs. 250 per fowl.