Even as Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates declared on Tuesday a ban on import of poultry from India, the Rapid Response Teams of the Centre culled 1.85 lakh birds around Chinmeirong village in Manipur, where an outbreak of bird flu was notified last week.The culling includes stamping out 6,000 birds on a government commercial poultry farm. Close to two lakh poultry birds are slated to be culled in the State.

No fresh case of “unusual mortality” in poultry has been reported from Manipur, any of the neighbouring States or from any other part of the country, according to Union Animal Husbandry Joint Secretary Upma Chawdhry.

India is the latest affected by the fatal viral disease out of the 25 countries which reported the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu this year.

The killer disease affects the respiratory system and vital organs in poultry (chicken, turkey, quail, guinea fowl as well as pet and wild birds).

Ms. Chawdhry said 80 per cent of the poultry birds were culled in a 0-5 km radius of Chinmeirong, where 132 birds died last week. “Of the 86 sectors been identified, we have finished the culling operation in 70 sectors/units. So far 1,85,231 poultry birds including chicken and ducks have been culled.”

Most of the areas where birds have been stamped out are in backyard poultry. There are a few private commercial units with 200-300 birds. The government has already announced a plan for payment of compensation to the farmers whose poultry are culled.

The Centre has asked the northeastern States to intensify vigil on the border with the countries which have reported an outbreak of avian influenza.

Thanks to the surveillance by the government, No human infection has been reported in the country.

Agencies on Tuesday, however, reported the death of a pregnant woman in Vietnam from bird flu infection — the third death in the country in two months.

Other bird flu affected countries include Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Myanmar, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Laos, Russia and Thailand.

Earlier this month, the United States notified an outbreak of low pathogenic infection on a commercial turkey farm in Virginia and stamped out a flock of 54,000.

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