With an outbreak of bird flu being reported in Alappuzha and Kottayam districts of Kerala, the administrations of the two districts have started the procedure to cull thousands of birds, including ducks, in the region. A special team of health officials has been deployed to cull the birds, in order to contain the further spread of the disease. As per the preliminary reports, over 40,000 birds need to be culled, which comes as a setback to several farmers in the districts.
On Monday, state minister K Raju had told the media that around 12,000 birds have died, and birds in the radius of 1 kilometre from where the outbreak has been reported will be culled to stop the spread of the disease. Alappuzha district Collector has announced that, mostly H5N8 viruses were found in the ducks that were found dead. In Alappuzha, the infection has been detected in Nedumudi panchayat, Thakazhi panchayat, Pallippad panchayat and Karuvatta. According to the Collector, in Nedumudi region, and one kilometre around the farm where infection has been reported, 5,975 ducks will be culled. About 11,250 birds will be culled in Thakazhi, 4,627 in Pallipad and 12,750 in Karuvatta.
An 18-member rapid response team, which includes 10 doctors, has been deployed in Alappuzha district alone to carry out the culling process. In Alappuzha, 12,000 birds have already died, reportedly due to the disease.
Notably, Alappuzha District Collector A Alexander has issued orders to prevent the use and sale of meat, eggs and excreta of the birds (as fertiliser for agricultural purposes) of ducks, hens and quail in Kuttanad, Karthikappally taluks. The prohibition has been ordered under Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code. The order came into force on Monday.
Meanwhile, in Kottayam, the disease outbreak has happened in the 14th ward of Neendoor gram panchayat. Birds in the infected farm and those in one kilometre premises will be culled. Eight rapid response teams have been deployed for this, said Kottayam Collector M Anjana. In a small relief, the farm where the disease outbreak has been reported, is located in an isolated region, the collector added.
A 24-hour control room has been set up in the district veterinary clinic at Kodimatha. People can contact the control room at 0481-2564623 to clarify their doubts on bird flu.
The outbreak of bird flu has worried several farmers in the area, who are expected to suffer losses due to the culling of the birds. On Monday, state minister K Raju assured farmers that they will be compensated for their losses.
According to reports, affected poultry farmers have criticised the state government, allegedly over the delay in intervention. Reportedly, despite flagging the sudden deaths of birds two weeks ago, the government has only now confirmed the outbreak of the disease.
Kerala is not the only state that is witnessing a bird flu outbreak, avian influenza has also been reported recently in Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, following which the Union government issued guidelines asking states and union territories to take all possible measures and precautions to prevent the transmission of the disease.
The symptoms shown by infected birds with influenza are: tremors, diarrhoea, head-tilts and paralysis. The disease is found to spread rapidly.
According to the World Health Organisation, chances of humans being infected with the virus H5N8, that is reported in Kerala, is low, though the chance cannot be totally excluded. In a 2016 report, WHO stated ‘till date, no human cases of infection with influenza A(H5N8) have been detected”.