PESHAWAR March 2: The Sarhad Poultry Farms Association on Thursday rejected reports about presence of the dangerous bird flu virus in the province and said that the government had culled chickens without confirmation of the reports.

The rumours had caused a huge loss to the local poultry industry, rendering hundreds of people jobless, as no one was willing to buy poultry products because of the scare sparked by bird flu rumours, said the president of the Association Fazal Malik at a news conference.

He said that the workers of the two poultry farms that are currently under quarantine, were in good health, which was an ample proof of the non-existence of the virus in the province.

Mr Malik said that the rumours about the presence of the virus were being circulated without any medical proof because the government was killing healthy chickens as a precautionary measure.

He warned that if the same situation prevailed, thousands of people would abandon the business leaving a very negative impact on the country’s economy.

Meanwhile, the president of the Poultry Doctors Forum Dr Saeed Ahmad claimed that the rumours currently circulating about the presence of the bird flu virus was totally unfounded, therefore people should pay no heed to the same.

He urged the people to consume chickens without any fear, as the H5NI virus had not yet been detected in any part of the country.—PPI