'Consumption of well cooked chicken, eggs safe,' says govt amid fears of bird flu
Consumers should not heed to baseless rumours that are unscientific and often lead to confusion, the ministry further said
Amid fears of avian influenza across the country, the central government on Saturday asked the states to rethink their decisions to impose a ban on the sale of poultry and poultry products. The centre also urged the state governments to allow selling of poultry and poultry products sourced from the non-infected areas and states.
Mentioning that the country is effectively controlling the spread of the bird flu, the ministry of fisheries, the centre said the consumption of well-cooked chicken and eggs is safe for humans, according to a statement released by animal husbandry and dairying.
Consumers should not heed to baseless rumours that are unscientific and often lead to confusion, it further added.
"Till 16 January, cases of Avian Influenza have been confirmed in poultry in Latur, Parbhani, Nanded, Pune, Solapur, Yavatmal, Ahmednagar, Beed and Raigad districts of Maharashtra," the release said. "Moreover, avian influenza has been confirmed in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh (crow); Surat, Navsari and Narmada districts of Gujarat (crow); Dehradun district of Uttarakhand (crow); Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh (crow). Additionally, in Delhi, Pigeon and brown fish owl in Najafgarh and Heron in Rohini have tested positive for avian influenza, the statement mentioned.
As per the report received from Central Poultry Development Organisation Mumbai, unusual mortality of poultry have been found on the farm. The samples have been sent to the designated laboratory for testing, the ministry said.
In Chhattisgarh, RRTs has been deployed and the culling of poultry is underway in the epicentre of Balod district. Further, in Madhya Pradesh also RRTs have been deployed. Culling operation of poultry is underway in the epicentre of Harda district of Madhya Pradesh.
The central teams formed for monitoring the situation in the affected areas of the country are visiting the sites and conducting epistemological studies.
To raise the awareness on bird flu, the ministry said, "Following the advisories of the department, states are undertaking awareness generation activities through newspaper advertisements, social media platforms etc. Also, continues efforts to generate awareness about Avian Influenza and how to deal with the situation is being shared among the general public through various media platforms including social media platforms like Twitter and Face book handles."
Source: LiveMint
