In a major blow to duck farmers ahead of the festive season, authorities have confirmed the presence of a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in three panchayats of Kottayam district.
District Collector P.K. Jayasree said the presence of H5N1 virus, a subtype of influenza A virus, was confirmed at Kattamada (wards 4, 5) in Vechoor panchayat, Vendakari Kizhakkechira in Kallara (ward 1), and the Kallungathara Ikkarasala paddy polders in Aymanam (ward 3) in tests conducted at the National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases, Bhopal. An emergency meeting convened by the Collector on Tuesday decided to kick-start culling of all domestic birds in a km radius of the locations where the virus has been detected.
The culling operations will commence on Wednesday and 10 rapid response teams (RRTs) of the Animal Husbandry Department have been set up for the purpose. As per a primary assessment, 28,500 to 35,000 birds will have to be culled to keep the disease in check.
A blanket ban on movement of poultry, including ducks, chicken, quail, and other domestic birds, has been declared in the one km radius of the infected areas.
According to the Collector, a compensation of ₹100 will be given to ducks below 60 days and ₹200 to those above 60 days.
Culling in Alappuzha
Bird flu (H5N1) in ducks was confirmed in two more grama panchayats in Alappuzha on Tuesday.
Officials of the Animal Husbandry department said the outbreak was reported from three places in Nedumudi grama panchayat and two spots in Karuvatta.
A total of 38,675 ducks within one-km radius of the hotspots would be culled to tackle the spread of the disease. “Culling operations will begin on Wednesday morning. Carcasses of culled birds will be burned. Apart from ducks, other domestic birds in these areas will also be culled,” said an official.
Last week, bird flu was confirmed in ducks at Kunnumma South (ward 10) in Thakazhy grama panchayat. Following this, rapid response teams culled more than 9,000 birds, mostly ducks, within one-km radius of the infected area.
(With inputs from Alappuzha bureau)
