Avian flu has been confirmed at three more places in Alappuzha.
Officials said the presence of the H5N1 subtype of the Influenza A virus was detected in ducks at Koyilmuck South (ward 10) in Edathua grama panchayat and Thennady (ward 4) in Thakazhi panchayat and chickens at a poultry farm at Neerkunnam East (ward 7) in Ambalappuzha North panchayat.
A farmer raising 19,000 ducks at Koyilmuck South lost some birds in the past week. Another duck farmer at Thennady with a flock size of 10,523 ducklings also lost birds during the period. At Neerkunnam East, around 150 chickens of the total 650 at the poultry farm had perished.
Following the mass bird deaths, the Animal Husbandry department sent samples to the National Institute of High Security Animal Disease (NIHSAD), Bhopal, for analyses, which tested positive for avian influenza on Thursday. Meanwhile, samples of dead ducks sent from Muttar tested negative for the disease, said an official.
Alappuzha District Animal Husbandry officer Sajeev Kumar K.R. said that as part of containment measures, culling of birds, including the rest of the birds in the disease-affected duck/chicken flocks and domesticated birds, within the 1-km radius of the three hotspots would be carried out on April 30. Mr. Kumar citing the preliminary assessment said that 45,631 birds, mostly ducks, would have to be culled.
They include 33,974 birds, mostly ducks raised by around half a dozen farmers, at wards 8, 9 and 10 in Edathua and wards 1 and 2 in Veeyapuram. Another 10,867 birds will be culled at wards 3 and 4 in Thakazhi and 790 birds in wards 5, 6 and 7 in Amabalappuzha North.
Bird flu (H5N1) has so far been reported at five places in the district. After the disease was confirmed in the ducks of three farmers — one in Edathua panchayat (ward 1) and two in Cheruthana panchayat (ward 3), rapid response teams of the AHD culled 17,480 birds, mostly ducks, within a one-km radius of the 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.
