H5N1 avian influenza detected in Odisha’s Puri dist; govt culls over 6,700 birds
Bhubaneswar, Jul 13 (PTI): A bird flu outbreak has been confirmed in a poultry farm in Odisha’s Puri district, prompting the state government to launch emergency containment measures, including mass culling of over 6,700 birds, a senior official said on Sunday.
The state government resorted to mass culling of the birds after the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), Bhopal, confirmed that samples collected from Bada Ankula village in Delanga block of the district tested positive for the H5N1 avian influenza virus, he added.
Over 6,700 birds were culled on Saturday and Sunday following standard operating procedure (SOP) lay down by the Centre, he said.
Sarat Kumar Behera, chief district veterinary officer (CDVO), Puri, informed that five rapid response teams (RRTs) along with health teams have been deployed in the area where bird flu cases were detected.
"We have completely restricted the movement of live birds in and out of the infected zone," he said.
After completing culling within a 1-km radius of the village, samples from another five villages have been collected to test for the virus, Behera said.
Sources said the village had witnessed unusual poultry deaths over the past week, but the outbreak was officially confirmed only after villagers raised concerns and officials collected samples on July 9.
Meanwhile, Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Minister Gokulananda Mallik visited the bird flu infected area to take stock of containment measures taken to prevent further spread of the virus.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
