9,048 ducks culled in Alappuzha

Health department has launched survey and awareness campaign

Culling of ducks within one-km radius of the bird flu-hit Kunnumma South (ward 10) in Thakazhy grama panchayat and burning of carcasses were completed on Friday.

Officials of the Animal Husbandry department (AHD) said a total of 9,048 ducks belonging to five farmers were culled by rapid response teams in a bid to tackle the spread of the disease. Although the culling operation was completed on Thursday, disposal of carcasses was slightly delayed due to rain, said an official.

Meanwhile, the Health department has launched a survey and awareness campaign in Thakazhy and Purakkad grama panchayats. People are being checked for fever and other ailments. Though bird flu viruses do not usually infect humans, the Health department has urged people to exercise caution in view of the outbreak.

Joseph Cherian, a duck farmer from Purakkad, who was raising around 13,500 ducks close to the outer bund of a paddy field at Kunnumma lost more than 10,000 birds in the past two weeks.

Following the mass death of ducks, the department despatched samples of dead birds to the National Institute of High-Security Animal Disease (NIHSAD), Bhopal, for analyses, which tested positive for avian influenza (H5N1).

Apart from Thakazhy, duck mortality has also been reported from Nedumudi in Alappuzha, Vechoor and Kallara in Kottayam district in recent days. The department has sent samples from these places for analyses but is yet to receive the test results.

It is the fourth time in the last seven years that bird flu outbreak was reported in the Kuttanad region. Earlier this year, avian flu caused by the H5N8 strain of the Influenza A virus was detected from six places in Kuttanad, Nedumudi, Thakazhy, Pallippad, Karuvatta, and Kainakary in Alappuzha district and Neendoor in Kottayam district.