Export Fears Follow Bird Flu Outbreak

INDIA - An outbreak of avian influenza has been confirmed in a turkey unit of the government-run Central Poultry Development Organisation in Bangalore.

The outbreak has triggered fear among farmers and exporters in Tamil Nadu that poultry products from across the country will be prevented from entering overseas and domestic markets, reports The Hindu.
Secretary of the Animal Husbandry Department (AHD), Government of India, Gokul Chandra Pati confirmed the outbreak of bird flu in a report he submitted to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) on Friday. He stated that 3,481 turkeys had succumbed to the flu at the farm in the second week of October.
Based on test results from the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal, the department has identified a highly-pathogenic avian influenza virus as the cause of death. The report, however, made it clear that the occurrence was only in a zone or compartment and not the entire country.