Amid fears of avian flu spreading, mass bird deaths have been reported from Muttar and Ambalappuzha North in Alappuzha.
District Animal Husbandry Officer Sajeev Kumar K.R. said that a farmer raising 2,300 ducks at Muttar lost 164 in recent days. At Ambalappuzha North, 90 chickens of the total 650 in a poultry farm had perished during the period.
“Following bird deaths, we collected samples from two places and sent them to the Avian Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at Thiruvalla for testing. The tests carried out at the laboratory suspect bird flu. We have decided to send the samples to the National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) in Bhopal for final confirmation. The samples will be dispatched to Bhopal on Monday and the results are expected in the next couple of days,” Dr. Kumar said.
An avian flu outbreak can only be declared after confirmation from the NIHSAD. Dr. Kumar said that Muttar and Ambalappuzha North had been under surveillance following the bird flu outbreaks at Edathua and Cheruthana last week.
More surveillance
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), rapid response teams of the Animal Husbandry Department (AHD) culled 17,480 birds, mostly ducks, within a one-km radius of bird flu hotspots on April 19.
Though rare, the avian influenza virus could be transmitted to humans. The Health department has tightened preventive measures and urged people to maintain caution. Surveillance has been strengthened within a 10-km radius of the hotspots.
