Bird flu scare: Kerala begins culling of four lakh ducks

With an outbreak of bird flu in Kerala, the state has started the culling of around four lakh ducks in Kuttanad to prevent the spread of the disease. [caption id=“attachment_1824611” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Moreover, Kerala announced a red alert in the three districts of Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta and banned the sale of duck meat and eggs, according to this DNA report. The report also said that nearly one lakh ducks were burnt to death on Wednesday. “Already, bird flu has killed 17,000 of the total six lakh ducks in Kuttanad,” said the report. Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy also held a special cabinet meeting which has decided to deploy more health and animal husbandry officials in the state, according to DNA. The Tamil Nadu Government on Wednesday announced a series of measures to prevent its spread in the state, including suspending transportation of chicken and destroying eggs meant for hatching from Kerala, according to PTI. Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, who chaired a review meeting with his senior cabinet colleagues and officials to take stock of the situation, said there was no outbreak of the avian flu in Tamil Nadu. The government will suspend transportation of chicken, and eggs meant both for consumption and hatching, and return the Kerala vehicles carrying these at border checkposts, he said. Commissioners of Transport and Revenue will lead this effort with the assistance of officials of Animal Husbandry, he said in a statement. Further, chemicals will be sprayed on all vehicles plying from Kerala to Tamil Nadu at border check-posts even as Southern Railways will be asked to adopt similar practice in inter-state trains, he added. Till the time the flu outbreak was completely brought under control, Railways will be asked not to transport poultry products from Kerala, the Chief Minister said. “Steps have been taken to destroy poultry eggs besides that of ducks which had been procured from Kerala within the last one month,” he said. Other measures include constant monitoring of the health of poultry in the state besides increasing the same in districts bordering Kerala, forming 800 teams for preventive purposes and monitoring the health of migratory birds, he added. A 24-hour control room has also been set up. A report from Namakkal, a major poultry hub of the country, quoting District Collector Dr V Dhakshinamurthy said there was no spread of avian flu in the district. Teams comprising veterinary doctors conducted checks at poultry units and found no spread of the disease, Deputy Director of Animal Husbandry department Sakthivel said. (With inputs from PTI)