Kendrapada: The outbreak of avian flu in Nadia district of the neighbouring West Bengal has triggered an alert here in the Bhitarakanika National Park in Kendrapada district. The park and the district animal husbandry officials on Thursday sounded alert to the inhabitants in and around the Park to take precautionary measures for possible outbreak of Bird Flu, by distributing leaflets among the gullible villagers, said Rajnagar mangrove forest and wildlife division DFO Manoj Kumar Mohapatra. Though the winter migratory birds are yet to arrive at the Bhitarkanika National Park, we have sounded the alert as a precautionary measure, he added. He informed that so far no poultry farms or duck population have been infected with Bird Flu virus, H5N1, in the district. According to official sources, when a bird is infected by the flu virus, it loses ability and strength to fly, starts drooping from the neck and feels dull in the eyes. The forest officials are keeping close watch on the poultry farms. The veterinary officials last year collected blood and stool samples of the avian species and sent the samples to the Animal Disease Research Institute (ADRI) in Bhubenswar. Later, the officials of ADRI sent them to High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal.