Poultry farmers in Navapur wait with bated breath for incident-free period

Nashik: Poultry farmers in Navapur taluka of Nandurbar district are on edge, awaiting a mandatory 90-day disease-free period following the recent avian flu outbreak, after which fresh poultry can be introduced, and normal operations can be resumed.The latest outbreak led to infection in birds across eight farms, triggering culling operations in 15 farms within a 1km radius of the epicentre in the poultry hub. Navapur currently houses 38 poultry farms, down from 60 in 2006, when the first outbreak was recorded. The region has since faced three major outbreaks, including one in 2021.“So far, in the third outbreak, over 4lakh birds have been culled, while about 25 lakh eggs and 548 tonnes of feed have been destroyed,” said Dr Sanjay Khachane, the district deputy commissioner of the Animal Husbandry Department.While culling at commercial farms has been completed, around 20,000 backyard poultry birds are yet to be culled. “This is being executed step-by-step. Cleaning and sanitising the commercial poultry farms was our top priority, and that has been achieved. Over the next few days, backyard poultry will also be culled,” the officer said.Authorities have stepped up surveillance and monitoring. “We sent a couple of samples from non-poultry birds around the area to determine if wild birds were the root cause of the infection’s spread in the region. However, those samples tested negative,” Khachane added.Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) have completed surveillance, culling, and destruction of contaminated material, while random sampling continues to check for any fresh infection.Restrictions imposed by the district administration, in line with WHO guidelines, remain in force, including a ban on the transportation of birds and suspension of poultry activities in affected zones.“The first sign of relaxation will only come after the mandatory 90-day period passes off without a single fresh case of avian flu being reported. Only then will farmers be able to start their businesses all over again,” said a local farmer.