Tamil Nadu’s Cuddalore district administration has intensified containment measures after a national laboratory in Bhopal confirmed avian influenza in tissue and blood samples collected from dead chickens at poultry farms in the district.
Nine specialised teams have been deployed to cull and safely dispose of infected poultry, district collector Sibi Adhithya Senthil Kumar said while briefing the media on Saturday. The administration has also begun sanitisation work across affected farms and restricted the introduction of new birds in the infected area.
The first sharp increase in poultry deaths was reported on October 30 in Thimmanampettai, in the Cuddalore-Kurinjipadi belt. Samples were sent to state and central laboratories, with the Bhopal facility confirming the presence of bird flu, according to the collector.
The administration said the infection has remained localised to the Cuddalore-Kurinjipadi region. Surveillance has covered 129 poultry farms across Cuddalore, Chidambaram and Virudhachalam, with no further spread reported outside the affected belt. A total of 34,527 birds have died since the outbreak began.
Fifteen poultry units have been identified as affected. Culling and disposal operations are continuing at the remaining five active farms, while the other affected units are being handled as part of the containment process. The district administration has prohibited the affected farms from restocking or raising new poultry for 90 days. Joint committees made up of revenue and local administration officials are monitoring the farms during this period.
The response also includes measures aimed at reducing health risks for people working at the farms. The health department has started distributing Tamiflu prophylaxis to poultry workers and handlers. Special medical camps and active surveillance have been established at nearby primary health centres, where officials will monitor workers and other exposed people for flu-like symptoms over the next three to four days.
The district administration sought to distinguish the affected poultry from market-ready birds. The collector said birds normally sold in the market were older, at around 65 to 70 days, while the broiler mortality recorded in the affected farms involved younger birds aged between 25 and 35 days. He urged residents not to panic and said precautionary and sanitisation measures were being carried out under Union government protocols.
The immediate administrative priorities are to complete culling at the five remaining active farms, safely dispose of infected poultry, maintain the 90-day breeding restriction and continue health surveillance through local primary health centres. Officials have not reported further spread beyond the identified Cuddalore-Kurinjipadi region.
