Gorakhpur: All chicken shops in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh were asked to close for 21 days after detection of avian influenza strains, H5N1 and H9N2 in bird samples from five areas of the city on Saturday.Samples were taken at Jhungia Bazaar, Aluminum Factory Area, Tarambarandal, Bhagat Chaurah and Shaheed Ashfaqullah Khan Zoological Park. They were sent to the National Institute of High Security Animal Disease (NIHSAD) at Bhopal at MP, which confirmed the presence of both the virus strains.The Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) activated the district-level rapid response teams and established a control room at the Sadar Veterinary Hospital to handle the outbreak.After the confirmation, Additional Municipal Commissioner, Nirankar Singh said, as per the guidelines of the Central Government, operations have begun within 1 km radius of infected areas. All living birds within this zone will be closed and disinfection drives are running.The CVO appealed to the public not to pay attention to rumors and cooperate with the administration. A total of 1,328 samples of Gorakhpur and 1,470 samples from Gorakhpur-Basti Division were tested during monitoring exercises.Bird flu began from Gorakhpur zoo, where four animals – a lion on April 30, leopard Mona on 8 May, Tigress Shakti on 7 May, and a wolf – have bowed to the virus so far. The zoo has already been closed for prevention measures.
