The 1.6 crore kilogram average monthly consumption of chicken in the State is already down by 10 per cent, according to Karnataka Hatcheries Association president Nandakumar. Retailers and poultry farmers were feeling the pinch, he said.

Nandakumar said the chicken prices were down by Rs 9 a kg of chicken. “Before the bird flu was noticed in West Bengal wholesale price of live chicken was Rs 34 per kg. However, the rate has fallen to Rs 25 per kg. With this poultry farms have been suffering a loss of more than Rs 5 lakh every day,” he said.

Manjesh Kumar, general manager of Venkateshwar Hatcheries Limited, one of the leading chicken breeders of the country, said that consumption had come down because of wide coverage of bird flu in West Bengal in media. “However, this situation will not continue for a long time. We are hopeful that within a few days the situation will be normal,” he said.

Trinadha Reddy, coordinator of National Egg Coordination Committee, has demanded that the state government should clarify the public that no case of bird flu has been reported in the state.

If the public are not made aware of the fact gradually consumption of eggs and chicken will come down affecting the industry to a larger extent. There is a demand of 20,000 tonnes of maize, 15,000 tonnes of sunflower and 5 tonnes of de-oiled bran in a month from poultry farmers. If the situation continues price of maize, sunflower will also come down, affecting farmers. The state government should come to the rescue of farming sector, he said.

Meanwhile, the Department of Animal Husbandry was actively monitoring the situation in the State. Samples of avian blood from poultry farms and hatcheries were collected daily from 40 locations in the State and sent for analysis to the Institute of Animal Health and Veterinary Biologicals in Hebbal. Special vigils were on at the bird sanctuaries across Karnataka. A core committee was also set up.

Consumers, chicken vendors and hatcheries and farms were specially targeted for awareness programmes by the Government. Also on the State agenda were door-to-door awareness programmes for chicken breeders in rural areas.

In poultry
*Sudden death of many birds
*Profuse watery diarrhoea
*Fast respiration
*Weakness and staggering gait
*Lower food intake

In humans
*Fever, cough, sore throat, muscle ache, severe breathing problems

Source: Deccan Herald