No signs of avian influenza outbreak in Gurugram yet, say officials

Clinical surveillance for avian influenza (H5N8) has not detected any unusual mortality at poultry farms in the district yet, said officials in the animal husbandry department on Friday

Clinical surveillance for avian influenza (H5N8) has not detected any unusual mortality at poultry farms in the district yet, said officials in the animal husbandry department on Friday. However, the district wildlife department said on the same day that it had retrieved five wild bird carcasses, of which two have been sent for testing to the Regional Disease Diagnostic Lab in Jalandhar.

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“We found five fresh carcasses on Friday morning. Four crows and one egret — all seemed to have died of similar symptoms. One crow and egret samples has been dispatched to Jalandhar by the animal husbandry department. The others have been buried,” said Rajesh Chahal, wildlife inspector, Gurugram, declining to specify where these carcasses had been found.

After suspicions arose earlier this week, Haryana on Friday notified an outbreak of influenza strain H5N8, with Panchkula’s Ganauli and Kheri villages being declared as the epicentre. In light of this development, officials said they will continue to monitor the status of chicken farms and wetlands — where migratory waterfowl are feared to be spreading this disease — for at least another three weeks.

Chahal, however, said that no migratory bird carcasses have yet been found. “Migrant winter birds are in fact thriving in Sultanpur. There are no plans to close the national park to visitors, as was the case during an earlier bird flu outbreak in 2015,” Chahal clarified.

A district-level committee, headed by the animal husbandry department’s three sub-divisional officers (SDO), was also formed on Friday. If any containment operation is put into motion in the next few days — as per a centrally approved action plan received by the regional office on Thursday — it will be steered by this committee, officials said.

Veterinary officers assigned to rapid response teams, which were put in place a day earlier, will also report to this committee. “We have had a training workshop for all officers and surgeons on Friday. A detailed discussion was held on the action plan. We are prepared to start viral surveillance and serosurveillance in both poultry and wild birds, at a moment’s notice,” said a department vet, seeking anonymity.

Officials in the district animal husbandry department, including their deputy director for Gurugram, Dr Punita Gahlot, declined to comment at length. “We have not been authorised to speak to the press. I can only say that there are no signs of an outbreak in Gurugram as of today,” said Gahlot.

However, another senior official in the animal husbandry department, also seeking anonymity, said, “All poultry farmers maintain a log of chicken deaths, since they are an everyday occurrence. The average mortality rate at any high-density chicken farm is about two percent. Some birds will simply not survive their expected life cycle, which is just under two months. We have looked at data from some backyard units going back about two weeks, and there is no statistical evidence of excess mortality.”

Officials also said that Gurugram, being one of Haryana’s least productive poultry farming districts, was less susceptible to an outbreak. “The sector itself is very disorganised. There are no large markets. Hatcheries and large farms are scattered. Other than two or three industrial-sized operations, most of the chicken is supplied from backyard units, whose flocks don’t intermingle much, thereby reducing chances of an outbreak,” said one senior veterinarian, also requesting anonymity.

Demand hit

Notwithstanding these caveats, however, the demand for poultry and eggs in the city has taken a hit, prompting wholesalers and butchers to reduce prices in response. From ₹100 to ₹120 for a full broiler chicken, the price has now come down to about ₹80 in Gurugram’s wholesale market. In retail markets, the price of a full, freshly butchered chicken has dipped to about ₹150, down from about ₹200 to ₹220 just a few days ago.

Mustak, who runs a small butcher shop in Chakkarpur, Sector 28, said, “I sell anything between 30 to 40 chickens every day usually, but last two days I have sold only around 25 pieces. The government has said it is safe to eat chicken.” Traders fear that they may have to slash prices further after Haryana notified the outbreak officially. In Panchkula, the prices of chicken have fallen even more sharply, touching about ₹50 per kilogram in the wholesale markets, according to some estimates.

Traders expressed serious concerns over the impact this outbreak will have on small and medium-size poultry farmers. Damandeep Singh, who owns multiple fish and meat shops in Delhi-NCR, said, “Poultry farming used to be very prominent in Gurugram until 15 years ago; not so much anymore. Every time there is a bird flu scare, independent hatcheries close down and do not reopen. Demand will definitely pick up again, but smaller businessmen may find it hard to revive their operations.”

This, Singh said, was all the more unfortunate given how the industry as a whole suffered during the Covid-19 lockdown. “There were so many rumours about chicken causing Covid-19. Demand fell very sharply and is not yet back to pre-Covid times. So to deal with this now is naturally going to cause even more stress to farmers, butchers and sellers,” he added.