Bird flu scare on rise in Kerala, mass culling of ducks in Kottayam, Alappuzha

The district administration has banned the use and sale of eggs, meat and manure of ducks, chickens, quails and domestic birds in the affected areas.

A huge number of ducks were killed and burned in Kottayam district of Kerala after an alert for bird flu (H5N1 influenza) was sounded by the state animal husbandry department.

A file photo of health workers preparing to light a fire after culling ducks following the detection of the H5N8 strain of bird flu among domestic birds in Alappuzha district, Kerala. (AP/File)

“Killing and burning of ducks being done. Places like Kallara, Vechoor and Aimanam were affected by bird flu,” said Kottayam District Collector PK Jayasree, as quoted by news agency ANI.

Bird flu scare was reported first in Alappuzha after many ducks and local birds in the district perished last week, forcing authorities to rush samples to the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal. “The government has instructed the district collector to take necessary measures,” informed Animal Husbandry Minister J Cinchu Rani in the state capital Thiruvananthapuram.

The district administration had already banned the use and sale of eggs, meat and manure of ducks, chickens, quails and domestic birds in the affected areas. Additionally, the district administration said that rapid response teams will be deployed in areas where the bird flu has been confirmed and preventive medicines will be distributed to the people.

The district reported the viral outbreak last year as well but it was localised and contained. In 2016, at least 5 lakh chicken and ducks were culled in Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta districts to control bird flu.