Culling operations commenced in avian flu-infected duck farms in Kottayam district on Tuesday even as the district administration received confirmation that one of the samples from a poultry farm tested positive.
According to Department of Animal Husbandry officials, the sample from chicken was collected from the farm at Chalakkari in Aarpookkara grama panchayat. Four samples were sent to the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases, Bhopal, out of which one tested positive. These chicken were reared adjacent to the bird flu-infected ducks, it is learnt.
Meanwhile, authorities said they culled 1,099 ducks on the first day of the operations, which was affected by rain. The number of bird flu-affected ducks is mounting with 2,832 ducks dying on Tuesday alone. Earlier, the authorities had put the number at over 6,000.
The culling operations are being taken up by a team led by a veterinary surgeon. Tuesday’s operation was centred round Kelakkari North polder in Aarpookkara grama panchayat. The officials said the operation will continue till all affected birds were culled.
