The Hindu Business Line : Andhra Pradesh initiates several preventive steps

IN the wake of reports of bird flu in neighbouring Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, the largest poultry producing State has gone into top gear and initiated steps to check its spread.

With a turnover of around Rs 3,000 crore, more than 5.5 crore birds and daily production of over four crore eggs, the State has high stakes in the growing poultry industry.

Understandably, the State Government swung into action on Sunday, with the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, holding a meeting with the concerned ministries, poultry bodies and officials to take stock of the situation.

Meanwhile the Union Government has reportedly asked the Hyderabad-based, Hetero Drugs to supply two lakh doses of the `Tamiflu,' to meet the needs, if necessary.

Hetero Drugs has a sub-licence from Roche for the production and marketing of Oseltamivir (generic Tamiflu) to combat the Avian Influenza Virus. It has a commitment to supply one million doses to the Government of India by January 15 and has already supplied half of the target.

The reports from Maharashtra seemed to have an impact on the sales at several outlets, industry sources said. While it was not easy to quantify immediately, there was no panic as such.The State Director of Animal Husbandry, Dr L. Mohan said that precautionary measures have been put in place more than six months ago. About 534 sera samples collected from different parts of the State were sent to the Bhopal Laboratory for investigation and the results were negative.

The Chief Minister said there was no need to panic and instructed officials to take up extensive education campaign. He also sought the support of the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC), AP Poultry Federation, AP Poultry Breeders Association in the education campaign for the poultry farmers and consumers.

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