Pune: 13 chickens die due to bird flu at a poultry farm in Dhayari

Pune, February 6, 2021: Thirteen chickens have died due to bird flu at a small poultry farm in the Gosavi area of Dhayari. Since then, 67 chickens have been culled in a one-kilometre radius of the infected area on Saturday, informed senior officials of the Animal Husbandry Department.

On February 2, the dead birds were dumped on the road near the blind school in the area.

Municipal sanitation inspectors picked up the dead birds and sent their samples to the Disease Investigation Department in Pune.

Later, the samples were sent to the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal. The report came out positive and showed that the birds had indeed died of the bird flu, informed District Animal Husbandry Deputy Commissioner Sheetal Kumar Mukne.

All poultry within a one-kilometer radius of the infected area in Dhayari will be killed to stop the spread of the bird flu. The infected zone is a residential area, and hence, there aren’t many birds there.
Around 67 chickens have been killed till Saturday afternoon.

Necessary precautions are being taken in the ten-kilometer radius of the infected zone. There are around 55,000 chickens in the area. Officials will collect samples from this area. “Only chickens that test positive for the bird flu would be killed,” a senior official from the Animal Husbandry Department said.

Around 10,000 chickens have already been eliminated in the district from around four poultry farms. Around 550 chickens were eliminated in Boribel village of Daund taluka, 5,222 in Nande village of Mulshi taluka, 4,100 in Salumbre village of Maval taluka, and 67 in Gosavi area of Dhayari, the officer added.