Bird flu surveillance review meeting held in Kanniyakumari

NAGERCOIL Collector reviews bird flu surveillance in Kanniyakumari district amid outbreak in neighbouring Kerala, emphasizing strict preventive measures.

Kanniyakumari Collector P.N. Sridhar on Thursday chaired a meeting here to review the bird flu surveillance system put in place in various parts of the district following avian influenza outbreak in neighbouring Kerala.

 In the meeting attended by senior officials from various government departments, he said the Kerala Government had ordered the culling of over 45,000 poultry birds, including chicken, ducks and turkey, following avian influenza outbreak in the neighbouring State. The poultry birds affected by avian influenza would die within 48 hours without manifesting any serious symptoms and, hence, the poultry industry would suffer heavy loss due to the viral infection and loss in egg production.

 Since the H1N1 virus, spreading bird flu, could easily spread to men working in poultry industry through the poultry farm implants, egg trays, poultry feed, cages, broken eggs, hatchery equipment etc. it would affect their respiratory system to cause adverse health issues in those who happened to pick up the virus accidentally.

 “Hence, the surveillance system we have put in place across the district sharing borders with Kerala should be put on high alert until the threat dies down completely. The round-the-clock surveillance system in the check-posts at Kaliyakkavilai and Kaakkavilai should be maintained by deploying personnel in three shifts. Disinfectants should be sprayed on all vehicles entering Kanniyakumari district from Kerala, while vehicles bringing eggs, chicken, ducks, turkey, poultry feed etc. should be sent back to Kerala. The government veterinarians have been instructed to inspect all poultry farms in the district to vaccinate the birds and inspect them at regular intervals,” he said.

 The Collector also cautioned that improperly cooked chicken meat or eggs would cause health issues and, hence, the public should be doubly cautious while buying eggs or broiler from other districts or Kerala for their feasts. The restaurants serving eggs and chicken meat should serve the dishes after properly cooking them, he said.

 City Health Officer Ramkumar, Assistant Directors Sathyamurthy (Town Panchayats) and Shanthi (Panchayat), Joint Director of Animal Husbandry Radhakrishnan and others participated in the review meeting.