Orissa bans chicken imports for 15 days

An alert across the state has been sounded and control rooms have been set up at Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.

Orissa government has imposed a 15-day ban on the import of chicken from neighbouring states as a protective measure against bird flu starting Tuesday.

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However, there are no restrictions on the movement of eggs, said CJ Venugopal, Secretary of the State Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services Department.

Weekly consumption of chicken in Orissa is around 1.2 million kilograms against domestic production of about one million kilograms. The state imports 1,00,000 to 2,00,000 kg of chicken from Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.

A bird flu alert has been sounded across the state and control rooms have been set up at Cuttack and Bhubaneswar to monitor the situation. They would remain open from 8 am to 10 pm, the official said.

"Although there are no reports of bird flu cases from anywhere in the state, we have asked district veterinary officials to carry out inspections of poultry firms, draw blood samples if they spot birds having flu symptoms and submit reports as soon as possible," Venugopal added.

With the avian flu scare gripping the country, chicken prices have come down from Rs 70 to Rs 50 per kg in Bhubaneswar. In other towns like Rourkela, it has dipped even further and is selling at Rs 35-40 per kg.

Known to spread to human beings, the H5N1 strain of bird flu has so far resulted in nearly 100 human casualties across Southeast Asia, mostly in Vietnam. It has been reported in seven countries.