Rapid response teams (RRT) of the Animal Husbandry department culled 17,480 birds, mostly ducks, within one-km radius of bird flu hotspots at Edathua and Cheruthana in Alappuzha on Friday.
District Animal Husbandry Officer Sajeev Kumar K.R. said 11,925 birds were culled at Cheruthana and 5,555 at Edathua. Dr. Kumar said the number would go up slightly as he was yet to get the full details from Edathua. Eight RRTs took part in the culling operations and disposal of carcasses carried out as per the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
The culling operation was launched a couple of days after the presence of the H5N1 subtype of the Influenza A virus was confirmed in ducks of three farmers — one at Edathua grama panchayat (Ward 1) and two at Cheruthana panchayat (Ward 3). Ducks started to fall ill and die last week.
Following the mass death of ducks, the Animal Husbandry department sent samples of the dead and live birds to the National Institute of High-Security Animal Disease (NIHSAD), Bhopal, for analyses, which tested positive for avian influenza on Tuesday. Before the culling, the farmer at Edathua, who was raising 7,500 ducks, lost more than half of the flock. Two others, who were raising 2,000 and 15,000 ducks at Cheruthana, also lost several birds during the period.
Officials said that besides the ducks of three farmers, all domesticated birds within the one-km radius of the hotspots had been destroyed.
Minister urges caution
Though rare, the avian influenza virus could be transmitted to humans. Health Minister Veena George said the department tightened preventive measures and urged the people to maintain caution.
In a statement on Friday, Ms. George said that an emergency meeting convened under the aegis of the department reviewed the situation. The department had issued an SOP. It would conduct a fever survey within a three-km radius of the hotspots at Edathua and Cheruthana.
Throat swab specimens would be collected from people with fever and tested for avian influenza. People with fever and other symptoms at the hotspots would be under special surveillance for two weeks.
Surveillance would be strengthened within 10-km radius of the hotspots. The General Hospital, Alappuzha, would act as an isolation centre in case the disease was transmitted to humans. An isolation ward would also be set up at the Government Medical College Hospital, Alappuzha, to deal with serious cases.
The Health department had opened a control room at the district medical office. Contact number- 0477- 2251650.
