More than 200 samples, including 39 from the Gorakhpur zoological park and 169 from poultry farms across the district, have been sent to laboratories for examination as part of a large testing drive following confirmation of bird flu in a tigress that died at the zoo last week, officials said.
The test reports of three other animals, including a wolf and a leopard, that died in the zoo this month are still awaited. So is the report of a lion that died at the Kanpur zoological park on Thursday.
Sanitisation of the Gorakhpur zoo, officially known as Shaheed Ashfaqullah Khan Zoological Park, and all poultry farms in the district is underway, it is learnt.
The entire zoo is being sanitised two to three times daily, officials said.
Directions have also been issued to restrict the entry of outsiders to all poultry farms in the district. The workers of poultry farms were advised to enter the farms only after getting themselves properly sanitised besides adopting other measures.
The district has a total of 248 small and large poultry farms.
According to the zoo authorities, 35 samples of animals were sent to the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, while four were sent to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly.
The zoo houses nearly 300 animals.
“Fresh samples from other animals were sent for testing. Among the fresh samples collected are of two cows that died on Thursday,” said zoo’s Veterinary Officer Dr Yogesh Pratap Singh.
Gorakhpur Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Dharmendra Pandey said more samples will be collected for testing on Sunday.
Forest Department officials suspect that migratory birds are likely to be the carriers of the infection, as no cases of bird flu have been reported outside the zoo so far. There are several water bodies in the area where migratory birds gather, they pointed out.
The authorities may extend the closure of the zoo beyond the initial one-week period. After the tigress that died recently at the Gorakhpur zoo was tested positive for a strain of bird flu, the state government took several precautionary measures, including a week-long closure of three zoological parks and the Lion Safari in Etawah for visitors, along with continuous surveillance of animals housed in these facilities.
The three zoos are Shaheed Ashfaqullah Khan Zoological Park Gorakhpur, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Garden, Lucknow, and Kanpur Zoological Park.
Source – indianexpress
