Punjab reports 1st bird flu case with Mohali samples testing +ve

JALANDHAR: Punjab on Friday reported its first case of avian influenza after samples collected from poultry farms in Mohali district tested positive.

Officials at the Regional Disease Diagnosis Laboratory in Jalandhar said the samples received from Alpha Poultry Farm and Royal Poultry Farm at Behra village in Dera Bassi sub division of Mohali district were found positive by RT-PCR test.

Laboratory joint director Dr Mohinderpal Singh said, “According to protocol, the samples have been sent to the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal for confirmation.”

Neighbouring Himachal Pradesh has reported the death of more than 4,800 migratory birds at Pong wetland in Kangra district since the outbreak over the past month.

Culling of 1.6 lakh birds is underway in Haryana’s poultry farm belt of Barwala in Panchkula district.

According to protocol, the samples have been sent to the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal for confirmation. MOHINDERPAL SINGH, Jalandhar lab director

Lab testing 800 samples from state

The Jalandhar laboratory has received more than 800 samples from various districts of Punjab.

It has been testing 100-125 samples for bird flu daily.

Punjab government declares the state a controlled area

The Punjab government has declared the state a controlled area in view of the outbreak in neighbouring states and banned the import of live birds and unprocessed poultry meat.

The state government had earlier sounded an alert with chief secretary Vini Mahajan ordering that sampling, testing and surveillance be stepped up to control the spread of the disease. Mahajan had said that the state government was fully prepared to tackle any situation arising out of the outbreak in the country.