Panic of Bird flu grips Kerala, state govt orders culling of birds in two districts

The Kerala state government has ordered culling of birds in two districts following an outbreak of bird flu in the region. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said that bird flu has been declared as 'state-specific disaster' and the administration is taking appropriate steps to control the disease. Kerala was the first state in India to report the first Coronavirus case last year.

Rapid response teams, set up by the administration, began culling ducks, hens and other domestic birds in and around a one km radius of the affected areas in Alappuzha and Kottayam districts on Tuesday morning as per the guidelines issued by the government, news agency PTI reported quoting officials.

Around 1,700 ducks had died in a farm in Neendoor due to the viral infection.

Meanwhile, precautionary steps  have also been taken in neighbouring Tamil Nadu. The state authorities have increased surveillance on the inter-state borders and announced a contingency plan for the management of possible human cases.

"As the Avian influenza spreads rapidly, there could be a likelihood of the humans getting affected. So, as a precaution, the directorate general of health services has evolved a contingency plan for the management of human cases," Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said.

Tamil Nadu has also stopped entry of vehicles carrying poultry from Kerala from Tuesday.