Death of 42 birds in two villages triggers panic

Forty two hens and fowls were found dead under mysterious circumstances at two villages bordering Kerala, triggering panic among people as thousands of birds infected with H5N1 virus were culled in the neigbouring state.
Two persons from Oorkadvu and Pakna villages noticed 32 fowls and 10 chickens lying dead in front of their homes. The birds were 'abnormally warm' on touch, triggering panic among the people, animal husbandry sources said.
Nilgiris District Collector P Shankar, Head of Animal Husbandry department Manoharan and Dr Kathiravan, visited the villages, took stock of the situation and made arrangements to supply medicines, including Tamiflu, if necessary, to prevent the spread of any disease.

Blood samples of the birds were sent to Chennai and Bhopal for laboratory tests, the sources said.