India - Uttarakhand: Corbett on alert for bird flu after fowl deaths

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Corbett on alert for bird flu after fowl deaths

Seema Sharma,TNN | Apr 10, 2015, 03.28 AM IST

Corbett on alert for bird flu after fowl deaths
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DEHRADUN: An alert has been sounded at the Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) and Lansdowne Forest Division (LFD) after a large number of fowl were found mysteriously dead in the poultry farms of adjoining areas in Kotdwar and Ramganga. Samples from some of the dead birds have been sent to the high-security Animal Disease Lab in Bhopal and the reports are expected in about four days.

Sources said a large number of fowl died in the past five days in chicken breeding centres that border the Corbett reserve and Lansdowne Forest Division, triggering a massive scare among forest officials who feel all precautions must be taken so that in case of bird flu the virus doesn't spread to animals that feed on fowl.

The anxiety is all the more potent as despite treatment there has been no curtailment in the deaths of the birds. Unable to contain the crisis, the animal husbandry department (AHD) finally sent samples of four dead birds to the Bhopal lab to ascertain the cause of the high mortality and take necessary steps to prevent spread of infection.

AHD director Kamal Mehrotra told TOI, "Chicken in hospitals and private poultry farms in Simbalgarh developed serious lung infection and haemorrhage. We are awaiting the lab reports to draw clear conclusions on what caused the deaths."
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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Corbett-on-alert-for-bird-flu-after-fowl-