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Month after first coronavirus case, Kerala detects bird flu in 2 villages
At least 13,000 chickens will be culled on Sunday to check the spread of the virus, the state animal husbandry department said.
Barely a month after Kerala reported India’s first three cases of coronavirus and treated them back to life yet another disease, bird flu also known as avian flu, was detected in the northern part of the state on Saturday.
At least 13,000 chickens will be culled on Sunday to check the spread of the virus, the state animal husbandry department said. People got suspicious two days ago when chickens started dying in two farms in Kodiyathur and Vengeri villages prompting authorities to send samples to the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal which confirmed the presence of avian flu, officials said.
State Forest and Animal Husbandry Minister K Raju chaired a meeting at the state capital on Saturday to review and co-ordinate steps to contain the virus. “There is nothing to panic about. We are monitoring the situation. Inspections will be carried out in all poultry farms,” said minister K Raju. State Health Minister K K Shailaja also said the situation was under control.
This is the first case of bird flu in the state after the outbreak in 2016 in Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta. At least 2 lakh chicken and ducks were culled to control the outbreak and farmers were compensated. Officials said this time also they will go all out to contain the virus locally. As many as 25 teams were formed under the guidance of vets to enforce preventive measures and local residents were advised to co-operate with them.
The bird flu scare surfaced at a time when 34 positive cases of COVID-19 infections were reported from various parts of the country. As the news broke, chicken prices crashed in the state. Many retailers said the price of one kg chicken has gone down to ₹58 due to paucity of demand. But doctors said chicken can be used after cooking properly in high heat and advised not to take half-cooked meat.
Avian flu is a variety of influenza caused by virus in birds. It can spread to humans and can trigger person to person transmission, experts say. There are many varieties of viruses and H7N9 is considered dangerous among them, they say. According to the World Health Organization there are many subtypes of avian influenza virus and only some of them will be dangerous to humans.
