Bird Flu Alert In Jharkhand

The presence of the H5N1 variant was confirmed…

On Tuesday, the government of Jharkhand is on alert mode after bird flu cases were reported in a government-run poultry farm in Bokaro district, informed officials.

The presence of the H5N1 variant was found in a protein-rich breed of chicken, who is popularly known as 'Kadaknath', at the farm in Lohanchal, they said.

"Chickens named ‘Kadaknath’ died due to bird flu in a Poultry Farm run by the government located in Lohanchal, as per the official report...

Areas under one km radius have been declared as affected zones and areas within 10 km radius declared as surveillance zones.

"Sales of chicken and duck will be banned in these areas," an official statement issued by Bokaro district administration said.

Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Arun Kumar Singh told news agency PTI that the state was on alert due to the flu.

According to Bokaro Deputy Commissioner Kuldeep Chowdhary, a medical team has been constituted to keep check on the border areas of the district and sampling of chickens/ducks of large poultry farms.

Beside this, the medical team has been asked to collect samples of people living in the infected areas, while a separate ward has been set up at Sadar Hospital for the treatment of the infected people.

The administration has asked people to refrain from eating chicken/duck for a few days.

Severe upper back pain, fever, cough, shortness of breath, cold and blood in the sputum are the symptoms of the infection in humans, it said.