RanchiThe Jharkhand government is on alert after bird flu cases surfaced in a government poultry farm in Bokaro district. The presence of the H5N1 variant was confirmed in a protein-rich breed of chicken known as ‘Kadaknath’ from a Lohanchal farm, he said. According to the report received from the laboratory, Kadaknath chickens have died due to bird flu in the Government Poultry Farm located in Lohanchal… The area falling within the radius of one km has been declared as affected area and within the radius of 10 km has been declared as monitoring area Is.
An official statement issued by the Bokaro district administration said, “Sale of chicken/duck etc. will be banned in these areas.” Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Arun Kumar Singh told PTI that the state is on alert.
According to Bokaro Deputy Commissioner Kuldeep Chowdhary, a medical team has been formed to keep an eye on the border areas of the district and collect samples of chickens/ducks from big poultry farms.
Along with this, the medical team has been asked to take samples of the people living in the infected zone, while a separate ward has been set up in Sadar Hospital for the treatment of anyone infected with bird flu.
The administration has urged people to refrain from eating chicken/duck for a few days. It added that symptoms of infection in humans include severe upper back pain, fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills and blood in the sputum.