Culling of birds begins in Alappuzha

ALAPPUZHA

Culling of birds began on Thursday in the wake of the detection of bird flu (H5N1) at Vazhuthanam near Haripad.

Animal Husbandry department officials said that rapid response teams had culled over 15,000 ducks at the Vazhuthanam Padinjare and Vazhuthanam Vadakke paddy polders in Haripad municipality.

"Culling of birds at the hotspot has been completed. Disposal of carcasses of the culled birds as per the standard operating procedure is going on. Culling of ducks and other birds within the 1-km radius of the avian flu hotspot, as part of the containment measures, will be completed on Friday," said an official.

The culling was carried out under the guidance of District Animal Husbandry officer D.S. Bindhu.

Meanwhile, the Health department has urged the people to maintain caution in view of the outbreak. Officials said the highly contagious H5N1 strain was usually transmitted from bird to bird. Though rare, the avian influenza virus could also be transmitted to humans.

It is the third time in less than two years that avian influenza was confirmed in the region.

In January 2021, avian flu caused by the H5N8 strain of the Influenza A virus was detected in several places in Kuttanad. Another outbreak of bird flu (H5N1) was confirmed in Thakazhy grama panchayat in Kuttanad in December last year.