The price of chicken in Karachi is going up because of a virus in Thatta

Thousands of chickens have died after poultry farms in Thatta were hit by a deadly virus.

The Newcastle disease is one of the main viruses killing chickens at these farms. It spreads when the weather changes from summer to winter and is a contagious disease that affects chickens’ respiratory systems. The virus causes water to build up in the chicken’s lungs and they become lethargic. Most stop eating all together.

Dr Amin Soomro, a research officer at the Sindh Vaccine Centre in Karachi, said, “This disease is spreading from the feed and chicks”. He explained that the vaccines available to curtail the disease are not up to the standard. Vaccines are used to prevent the virus from spreading but there is no guarantee that the vaccines are effective. Sometimes, it prevents the virus and sometimes it doesn’t. “There are no government laboratories to test the standard and effectiveness of vaccines,” he said.

When a single chick is infected, it spreads very quickly and farmers can lose their whole flock in a matter of a few days, causing a huge loss. The virus can infect a flock within 24 hours. A flock is comprised of between 5,000 and 10,000 chickens.

Infected chickens should be disposed of properly to avoid the disease from spreading but poultry farm owners aren’t taking enough care. “Dead chickens which are not buried can affect an area of up to six kilometres,” he added.

Poultry farm owners often dump the dead chickens in sacks and toss them along the side of the road. But this irritates people living nearby, because they can smell the chickens’ bodies.

Dr Soomro told SAMAA Digital that if a person eats a chicken infected with Newcastle disease, it won’t affect them directly. The problem is when infected chickens’ bodies are dumped in open areas. The bacteria pollutes the environment, which can cause skin diseases, eye problems and breathing problems.

Dr Soomro is concerned about the presence of poultry farms in residential areas because of this.

Around 70% of the chickens supplied to Karachi are from poultry farms in Thatta and Sujawal and the price of chicken in the city has gone up to Rs120 per kg because of this.

Newcastle disease is not new to Sindh. Recently, peacocks started dying in Thar because they were also infected.

Article source: https://www.samaa.tv/news/2018/09/the-price-of-chicken-in-karachi-is-going-up-because-of-a-virus-in-thatta/