Bird flu declared a state disaster in Kerala, authorities order culling of domestic poultry

Thousands of ducks have died in Kerala from the H5N8 virus infection

The Kerala government, on January 5, declared the outbreak of avian influenza a state disaster after thousands of ducks were found infected with the H5N8 virus.

Officials have informed that tests conducted at the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal have confirmed the outbreak of bird flu in Kerala.

The Kerala administration has already ordered the culling of ducks, hens, and other domestic poultry found within a one km radius of the affected zones. As of January 4, around 12,000 ducks had already died of the avian flu and 36,000 more will have to be killed to stop the spread of the virus.

K Raju, the State Minister for Forest, Animal Husbandry, and Dairy Development has assured that affected farmers will be compensated by the government.

The bird flu cases were reported from parts of Kottayam and Alappuzha districts in Kerala and authorities have issued a high alert in these areas.

According to a News18 report, four village panchayats -- Pallippad, Thakazhy, Nedumudi, and Karuvatta – in Alappuzha district and one duck farm in Neendoor panchayat of Kottayam district reported the H5N8 virus infection cases.

The Alappuzha administration has banned the use and trade of poultry meat, eggs, waste etc., in some pockets.

Notably, four other states, namely, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana have so far reported bird flu cases in the past week.