Highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1), commonly called bird flu, has been confirmed at a poultry farm in Kattiyankuppam village of Krishnapuram panchayat in Kurinjipadi taluk, Cuddalore district, after a national laboratory in Bhopal tested samples from dead chickens, District Collector Sibi Adhithya Senthil Kumar told reporters on Saturday.

Source: Mirror Now

A carcass sample was sent to the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) in Bhopal on November 5, and the laboratory confirmed H5N1 on November 13, according to The Hindu's report of the outbreak. More than 1,500 chickens had been culled by Saturday as containment began at the affected farm and within a one-kilometre radius under Government of India guidelines.

Source: The Hindu via TrendWire

The first sharp rise in poultry deaths was reported on October 30 at Thimmanampettai in the Cuddalore-Kurinjipadi belt. The administration said the infection has remained localised to that belt: surveillance has covered 129 poultry farms across Cuddalore, Chidambaram and Virudhachalam, with no spread reported outside the affected area. Culling and disposal are continuing at the remaining five active farms, and joint committees of revenue and local administration officials are monitoring the sites.

The health department has begun giving Tamiflu prophylaxis to poultry workers and handlers, and special medical camps at nearby primary health centres will monitor exposed people for flu-like symptoms over the next three to four days, officials said.

Source: UrbanAcres

Urging residents not to panic, the Collector said the deaths were limited to younger broiler chickens aged 25 to 35 days, while poultry normally sold in the market is older, at around 65 to 70 days. He said culling, disposal and sanitisation are being carried out under Union government protocols, and affected farms have been barred from raising new birds for 90 days.