The Jagatsinghpur district administration has engaged health officials and employees of Paradip municipality in a massive sanitation activity in the bird flu infected areas of Sandhkuda and Badapadia.
After two days of combing operation, sanitation work has been started in Sandhkuda and Badapadia where hens and ducks were dying of avian influenza in the last fortnight.
Additional district magistrate, Jagatsinghpur, Mr Sachidananda Sahoo said “Culling and combing operations have been completed.
There are no birds including hens, ducks, eggs and poultry feed in these infected areas.The sanitation related work has been taken up and will be completed in two days time, he added.
Apart from blood, authorities are now checking water, bird-feed, bird-litter and feather samples with a special focus on bird litter, which spreads the virus fast, sources said.
While no fresh cases of bird death due to avian influenza have been reported, a strict vigil has been kept on other birds in Paradip areas where 1,823 birds have been culled, 2,109 eggs and 62 kg eggs have also been destroyed.
A team from animal and veterinary department has been taking random blood samples from the birds from different areas of Paradip, Kujang and other areas.
With the sanitation work underway, including sprinkling of DDT, health officials have restricted visitors while employees continued their work wearing masks and caps.
Surveillance teams were going around a 10-km radius of the Sandhkuda and Badapadia areas of port town, declared as alert zone. Poultry business in this zone had been directed not to get any new birds.
With their establishments closed, stall owners were seen getting their premises cleaned and painted. Hotels within the alert zone have taken chicken off their menu.