A foolproof reporting system is essential to diagnose and control diseases in poultry, speakers stressed at a workshop organised by Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University.
The two-day workshop that was inaugurated here focussed on ‘Chicken Anaemia and Infectious Bronchitis in India- current scenario and strategies for control.'
Pointing to the lack of sufficient studies about causes and control of diseases, P.K. Shukla, Joint Commissioner (Poultry), Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Union Ministry of Agriculture, said that the Central government is in the process of implementing National Animal Disease Reporting System across the country through the National Informatics Centre.
All the districts of the State would be linked with the nodal central agency for better monitoring of diseases. The equipment for the web-based system is in being installed, he said. The system would soon percolate to block level. The project is set to be completed by this year.
The issues of control on importing poultry vaccines and development of strategies to identify emerging poultry diseases to address the problems of farmers, particularly in Namakkal belt, were also discussed at the workshop. Highlighting the contribution of poultry production to the country's and the state's economy, TANUVAS Vice Chancellor R. Prabakaran said the total value of the annual livestock production in the state is Rs.15, 000 crore. Of this, the value of annual poultry production accounts to Rs.4,500 crore.
The workshop would help in imparting skills to the professionals about the recent techniques in diagnosis and control of diseases, he said.
B. Muralimanohar, Director, Centre for Animal Health Studies, TANUVAS, spoke about chicken anaemia virus and infectious bronchitis affecting the birds. He underlined the need to establish the presence of variant of poultry disease. The contribution of the private sector in the tremendous growth of poultry sector without government assistance was also underlined. A.T.Venugopalan, former director of Centre for Animal Health Studies, TANUVAS also spoke.
