With avian influenza (bird flu H5N8) being detected among ducks at four places in Alappuzha district, the authorities have decided to cull birds within the 1-km radius of infected areas.
District Collector A. Alexander, who chaired a meeting at the District Collectorate here to take stock of the situation, directed the officials to initiate measures to check the spread of the disease.
According to the Animal Husbandry Department, bird flu was detected in Kuttanad at Nedumudi, Thakazhi, Pallippad and Karuvatta. The culling operations will begin on Tuesday morning. “We have identified 34,602 birds, a majority of them ducks for culling. These include 5,975 birds within the 1-km radius of the infected area in Nedumudi, 11,250 birds in Thakazhi, 4,627 birds in Pallippad and 12,750 birds in Karuvatta. The culling will be completed in three days,” said an Animal Husbandry Department official.
A rapid response team comprising 18 members has been constituted for the purpose. The team will be led by a veterinary doctor. Other members of the team include two livestock inspectors, two attenders, one each revenue and grama panchayat officials, one policeman and two helpers among others.
A standard operating procedure has been handed over to the officials selected. “The birds will be culled in a place close to the infected area. Carcasses of the culled birds will be burned. Firewood, diesel and sugar needed will be provided by the respective grama panchayats. All those involved in the culling operations will wear PPE kits. They will also be given preventive medicines,” said an official.
Although the Animal Husbandry Department collected samples from six places in the district and sent it to the National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), Bhopal, for analysis, only four samples tested positive for bird flu. This is the third outbreak of avian influenza in the district in the past seven years. In 2014, thousands of ducks died/culled in the region following a highly infectious bird flu outbreak caused by H5N1 virus. Two years later avian influenza caused by the H5N8 virus was detected among ducks in Kuttanad.
Meanwhile, the Health Department has launched a survey in and around the infected areas. People are being checked for fever and other ailments. The department has urged the people to maintain caution in view of the outbreak. Officials said that the H5N8 virus did not usually infect human beings. However, mutations might occur and the virus could be transmitted to human beings, officials warned.
