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.
