Daijiworld Media Network

Chikkaballapur, Feb 28: The Karnataka authorities have initiated steps to contain a bird flu outbreak in Chikkaballapur district, located near Bengaluru, with the State Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department issuing an order for the culling of 350 chickens at a poultry farm.

The order, issued on Friday, applies to a poultry farm located in Varadahalli, Chikkaballapur, after the H5N1 avian influenza virus was detected in the chickens there. The district administration, headed by Deputy Commissioner P.N. Ravindra, convened an emergency meeting and issued orders prohibiting the movement of chickens from the village.

All roads leading to the village have been barricaded, and vehicle movement is being carefully monitored to ensure that no chickens are transported out of the area. Preliminary investigations revealed that 28 chickens had been found dead at the residence of one Dyamappa in Varadahalli, with additional deaths reported in other households in the village.

Samples from three dead chickens from the poultry farm were sent to the Bengaluru Central Laboratory, where tests confirmed the presence of avian influenza. As a result, an order was issued to cull all the chickens at the farm.

In response to the outbreak, authorities have conducted a door-to-door survey of poultry in the village and sprayed sodium hypochlorite solution throughout the area. The health department is also closely monitoring the well-being of residents in the village.

However, sources have raised concerns following a tip-off that poultry farms in Varadahalli transported approximately 10,000 chickens to Bengaluru two days ago. It is suspected that these chickens were sold in meat shops and hotels across the city. Officials are investigating the matter and attempting to verify the claims, track the supply chain, and issue warnings to sellers not to sell chicken sourced from Varadahalli.

Following bird flu outbreaks in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, Karnataka’s Animal Husbandry Department has ramped up border surveillance of poultry trucks entering from these states. Although no bird flu cases had been reported in Karnataka previously, authorities have been monitoring poultry farms and chicken transportation closely to control the spread.

Karnataka is estimated to produce four crore broilers each month and is home to 73 breeders and 20,000 poultry farmers. In the bordering Belagavi district, authorities have begun screening poultry samples from individual and company farms and set up checkpoints along the Maharashtra border to prevent any potential spread of the virus.

Following the outbreak, poultry farmers in the region have reported a decline in consumer demand for chicken and eggs, leading to financial losses for many.