Bird flu scare: Govt bans import of poultry in J&K
Srinagar: The J&K government on Thursday banned the import of poultry till January 14.
In the wake of the spread of bird flu in neighbouring states of J&K, a government order issued in this regard reads that “as a measure of abundant precaution and in view of the declaration of whole J&K as ‘Controlled Area’ for bird flu disease, Government of UT J&K imposes complete ban on import of live birds including poultry and unprocessed poultry meet for any purpose into the union territory of J&K with immediate effect, till 14-01- 2021.”
“The decision will be reviewed based on the evolving situation,” the order reads.
After some suspected cases of bird flu reported in J&K, an alert was sounded in the region and samples of birds were collected to check whether flu has penetrated the region.
Besides sounding alert, monitoring committees headed by district chief animal husbandry officers have been constituted to keep a vigil.
Doctors have also cautioned people not to eat raw poultry and eggs, even as they say that well cooked poultry is safe to use.
They also advised that people associated with slaughtering, de-feathering and eviscerating of birds must take precaution to avoid any contraction of the virus.
Meanwhile, officials said that there are no reports of an outbreak of Avian influenza in the Valley till now.
