Union Health Ministry deploys high-level team to take stock of bird flu outbreak in Kerala

The team will also assist the State Health Department in terms of public health measures, management guidelines, and protocols to manage the increasing cases of Avian Influenza being reported in Kerala.

1,500 ducks die in a week

The outbreak of Avian Influenza was confirmed in the district after 1,500 birds died in the past week. The flu was detected in dead ducks in Vazhuthanam Padinjare and Vazhuthanam Vadakke in Haripad municipality.

District Collector VR Krishna Teja on Wednesday, 26 October, told the reporters that H5N1 subtype of the Avian Influenza virus has been detected in the dead birds.

The district administration on Thursday ordered the culling of 20,471 birds in the area.

According to The Hindu newspaper, two farmers who were raising ducks in Vazhuthanam Padinjare and Vazhuthanam Vadakke paddy polders and lost around 1,500 ducks in last week.

The Animal Husbandry Department later sent the samples of these dead birds to the National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), Bhopal, and the analysis and result were positive for Avian influenza.

Culling begins

After this, the district administration decided to cull birds in a one kilometer radius of these two farms.

Eight rapid response teams will carry out the culling process and Haripad municipality and Pallippad grama panchayat will be responsible for the disposal of carcasses.

This is the third outbreak of Avain Influeza in the state in the last two years.

In January 2021, cases was reported in the Kuttanad region, and in December 2021 an outbreak was reported in Thakazhy grama panchayat, again in the Kuttanad region.