NAMAKKAL: Amid reports of bird flu affecting poultry birds in neighbouring Karnataka, the poultry hub in Tamil Nadu - Namakkal district- has geared itself up with precautionary measures including setting in motion 50 'flying squads' to monitor, prevent and alert poultry farmers in the district against possible outbreak of the disease.
The Namakkal district collector, Ms. Asia Mariam said here on Monday that with the Indian Veterinary Research Institute in Bhopal having "confirmed" traces of bird flu from the poultry meat sold in some shops recently villages like Dasarahalli, Melkera near Bengaluru, where poultry birds are reared, the district administration here has taken immediate effective steps to ensure that bird flu does not spread to the major poultry rearing centre of Namakkal in TN.
Dr Asia Mariam, who held a review meeting here on Monday on the precautionary steps to be implemented immediately, said that Namakkal district had about 1,125 poultry farms, including 138 farms which rear poultry for extracting meat alone. Nearly 4.50 crore poultry birds are now reared here.
