An alert has been sounded in Tripura after the outbreak of bird flu in a state-owned poultry at R K Nagar near Agartala, officials on Saturday said. "The Tripura government has sounded an alert in the state following outbreak of avian influenza in R K Nagar farm (about 6 km from here) and about 3,000 ducks and chicken were culled there yesterday," principal secretary of animal resource development department Sriram Taranikant told reporters.
He said that a team of experts is in the state to oversee the process of culling and preventive measures being taken to contain its spread.
Taranikant said that as preventive measures poultry and egg markets within 10 km radius of the R K Nagar farm were closed, restrictions imposed on the movement of personnel working in the farm, strict surveillance was being maintained in the farm and adjacent areas and the entire area being sanitised.
He said that culling of chickens continued on Saturday in adjacent areas of the farm.
Following instructions from the Central expert team, the state government decided to cull poultry birds within 3 km radius of the infected farm.