Culling of birds began in Haryana’s Panchkula after the bird flu was confirmed in the state last week. Keeping in view the spreading of the flu, the state Food and Drug Administration (FDA) department has placed an order for the vaccine which is being administered to prevent the flu among birds.
Although the department is leaving no stone unturned to ensure the maximum supply of the vaccine, in the wake of the spurt in demand, the availability of the vaccine is not up to expectations.
“The department has placed the order of the bird flu vaccine with a Gujarat-based company, which is being administered in one dose,” said Lalit Siwach, Commissioner, FDA, Haryana. The company has been asked to speed up the process of manufacturing and supplying the vaccine so that the flu can be contained, he added.
For a broiler, the vaccine needs to be administered only once and only healthy birds would be vaccinated. However, the vaccine does not help in increasing the immunity of affected birds.
Information regarding the fixation of rates for the vaccine remains unknown.
The death of crows and ducks has also been reported in other districts of the state. In view of this, the Animal Husbandry Department has formed teams of experts which are conducting inspection in the affected areas. One of the officials has claimed that there is nothing to worry about as the situation is under control.
Reports reveal that there are around 4.5 crore birds across poultry farms in the state and the disease has been the cause of death for nearly 4.5 lakh birds so far. As per guidelines issued by the Union Government, 1.66 lakh birds from five poultry farms are to be culled and buried.
A 10-20 percent decrease in the sale of poultry products has been witnessed in Haryana due to the bird flu. This has caused huge losses to the poultry business which had also suffered during the beginning of the lockdown. Apart from the flu, other reasons for the death of the birds include cold and suffocation.