Amid avian influenza fears, the Poultry Division today said that no domestic birds in Kashmir division had been found infected with the virus, among the 430 samples that had been tested.
Avian influenza has been confirmed in samples taken from dead crows and droppings in six districts of Kashmir, Joint Director Poultry (Animal and Sheep Husbandry Department), Dr Mushtaq Ahmed Shah said. He said that 430 samples had been tested in Kashmir till date. Of these, he said, in the previous week, more samples from wild crows had been found positive. However, no sample from poultry farms and backyard birds had been found infected with the virus.
“We have tested over 300 targeted samples in addition to testing 130 samples from areas where mortality was reported from,” Dr Shah said.
In Jammu division, Dr Shah said, avian influenza had been reported in domestic birds from “a couple of districts”. He said Kashmir had taken additional measures to safeguard poultry. “No poultry is being allowed into the Kashmir division before it is tested,” he said adding that the samples were being tested at Lakhanpur.
The Poultry Division, he said, was set to start advanced ELISA tests for avian flu at Zakura facility. “We are procuring the kits and that would help us to further increase our capacity as well as reliability in testing,” he said.
J&K is among 14 states wherefrom avian influenza has been confirmed.
The central food regulatory authority, FSSAI, has issued detailed guidelines on safeguarding human health. It says that most strains of avian influenza virus are mainly found in the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts of infected birds, and not in meat. However, highly pathogenic viruses, such as the H5N1 strain, spread to virtually all parts of an infected bird, including meat.
“Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus can be found inside and on the surface of eggs laid by infected birds,” it says. The guidelines state that till date, no evidence indicates that anyone has become infected following the consumption of properly cooked poultry or poultry products, even if these foods were contaminated with the avian influenza virus.
However, with the news of avian influenza in other birds, the poultry sector has taken a hit in J&K and across India.