In the wake of large numbers of migratory birds now flocking the Bhitarkanika National Park, the State Animal Resources Department has started anti-bird flu vaccination drives at poultry farms near the park, informed Kendrapada CDVO Chaityana Charan Sethyon Tuesday.
According to Sethy, officials have started distributing leaflets to create poultry firm owners and households about possibility of outbreak of bird flu as feathered guests might have carried H5N1 virus.
Though no such case has been reported by now, the forest officials have kept a close watch on this aspect and urged the locals to take adequate precautions in this regard.
The avian species like Bar Headed Goose and Brahmin ducks, which are more vulnerable to carry the flu virus, have thronged the park in large numbers this year.
So far, RD vaccines have been administered to as many as 8,000 poultries in the park area and in some coastal pockets also. The department has planned to vaccinate 14,000 more birds within a month.
The RD (Ranikheta Disease) vaccine is administered to chicken as a precautionary measure against bird flu virus. “Though no sign of bird flu has been reported, yet the Animal Resources Department has asked people to inform its officials about any indifferent behaviour if they found in any migratory bird in their locality,” said Sethy.