Punjab Animal Husbandry Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa on Friday said as much as  99.5 percent of poultry farms in the state were exempted from bird flu, out of the total samples tested so far.

The official statement in this connection reads."99.5 percent of the poultry farms in Punjab are free from bird flu," Minister quoted.

He said that only 0.5 percent of the farms have been found to be infected with the Bird flu (avian influenza) after results came from the Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Jalandhar.

He expressed optimism that Punjab would soon be completely devoid of bird flu with endeavours being taken by the state government and poultry farmers.

"The Punjab government intends to test 100 percent of all poultry farms/backyard poultry in the state. The state government was committed to providing disease-free poultry products to the people," said Bajwa.

Giving information about the prevention of bird flu in Punjab, Vijay Kumar Janjua, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Dairy Development, said 8,022 samples have been tested so far at Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at Jalandhar.

Janjua also appealed to the public to eat fully-cooked meat and eggs as experts have advised that it is safe to eat if meat and eggs are cooked at 70 degrees Celsius for a minimum of 20 minutes.

At the same time, in a statement, he said the Punjab government would extend full support to the poultry farmers for conducting the tests of their poultry farms and these tests would be done completely free of cost.

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