Two districts of Kerala were put on high alert after cases of bird flu were reported. The administration in Alappuzha and Kottayam have set up control rooms to monitor the situation. In the last week of December, several ducks were found dead in both the districts.
“Eight samples of ducks have been tested in Bhopal out of which five tested positive. The presence of the H5N8 virus has been confirmed,” said State Minister for Forest, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development K Raju on Monday.
To avoid further infection, all birds within one km radius of the infected region will be culled. According to officials, more than 12,000 ducks have already died and another 36,000 may be killed to stop further spread.
“This includes ornamental birds and domestic birds. Compensation for farmers will be decided in consultation with the Chief Minister. About 12,000 ducks have died already and about 36,000 ducks will have to be killed,” said Raju.
In 2016, major bird flu was reported in Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha and at least two lakh ducks and chicken were culled to control the outbreak.
Recently, the cases of bird flu were reported in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. According to reports, 252 crows were found dead in the desert state. In Indore, carcasses of 50 crows were found.
