Bird Flu | Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram/IBNS: A new worry for Kerala government, confirmation of Avian Influenza caused by H5N8 strain amid Covid-19 pandemic, has forced the culling of thousands of ducks to avoid the spread of the infectious disease.
Media reports said five of the eight samples collected from Alappuzha and Kottayam districts, sent for examination to National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal, have been found infected with the virus.
The administration has decided to cull over 50,000 ducks after the disease was confirmed, said Alappuzha district veterinary officer K Lekha, reported Hindustan Times.
Kottayam and Alappuzha districts have been put on high alert and birds in 1 km radius of the affected area will be culled as per the established guidelines, Minister K Raju told the media.
The farmers will be compensated after a discussion with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, he added.
In 2016, Kerala had reported bird flu in Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta districts and nearly 2 lakh chicken and ducks were culled to arrest the outbreak.
According to the World Health Organisation, there are many subtypes of bird flu and only a few of them infect humans. Among them H7N9 is considered dangerous for human beings.
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