Bird flu confirmed at third poultry farm in Dera Bassi

The samples had tested posted at the Northern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (NRDDL), Jalandhar, last week, following which they had been forwarded to the Bhopal lab

The National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), Bhopal, on Wednesday confirmed avian influenza in samples sent from Evergreen Poultry Farm in Dera Bassi.

Ten teams have been constituted to cull 25,000 birds at Evergreen poultry farm.

It is third farm where bird flu has been confirmed in Mohali’s Dera Bassi subdivision and ninth in the region, which also comprises Barwala poultry belt in the neighbouring Panchkula district.

The samples had tested posted at the Northern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (NRDDL), Jalandhar, last week, following which they had been forwarded to the Bhopal lab.

“We got the report from Bhopal on Wednesday evening,” said VK Janjua, additional chief secretary, animal husbandry, dairy development and fisheries, Punjab. “We have constituted 10 teams to cull 25,000 birds at Evergreen farm. The work will begin on Thursday.”

The culling operations at the two other poultry farms in Dera Bassi’s Behra village were completed on Monday. In all, 55,483 birds were culled.

“A total of 26,438 birds at Royal and 29,045 birds at Alpha poultry farm have been culled and buried. The exercise was undertaken as per the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animals Act, 2009,” said Janjua.

In Panchkula, too, 81,000 birds were culled at three farms during nine-day operations that ended more than a week back.