Central team visits Alappuzha to take stock of bird flu situation

It is investigating the circumstances that led to the outbreak and whether bird culling operations were undertaken as per the Centre’s guidelines; the team will submit a report to the govt. with recommendations

A Central team of experts on Sunday reached Alappuzha to assess the situation following the avian flu (H5N1) outbreak at Vazhuthanam near Haripad.

The six-member team headed by Rajesh Kedamani, senior regional director, Regional Office of Health and Family Welfare, Bengaluru, held discussions with District Collector V.R. Krishna Teja and other officials at the Collectorate here.

Mr. Teja apprised the team of the culling operations and measures taken to tackle the spread of the disease in the district. He said that a total of 15,937 ducks had been culled so far in the district. Animal Husbandry department and Health department officials informed the team that surveillance activities had been tightened in Haripad municipality, Pallippad grama panchayat and neighbouring areas.

The Central team is investigating the circumstances that led to the outbreak and whether the bird culling operations were undertaken as per the Central government guidelines. It is also evaluating the public health risk of H5N1. It will assist the Health department in taking adequate public health measures to manage the increasing cases of bird flu being reported in the State. The team will submit a report to the government with recommendations.

Though the team was scheduled to visit the bird flu affected Vazhuthanam on Sunday, they postponed the trip due to inclement weather.

Other members of the Central team include experts drawn from the National Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases, New Delhi, National Centre for Disease Control, New Delhi, National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.

Animal Husbandry department officials Santhosh Kumar, S. Vinaya Kumar, Vysakh Mohan, Additional District Magistrate S. Santhosh Kumar, Deputy Collector (Disaster Management) Asha C. Abraham, District Surveillance Officer K. Deepthi and others attended the meeting.