Avian influenza: Red alert sounded in three Kerala districts

With lab tests confirming avian influenza to be the cause of mass death of ducks in parts of Kerala, a red alert has been sounded in Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta and Kottayam districts to restrict movement of poultry and allied products.
The tests of samples of dead birds conducted in Bhopal Hightech Laboratory had confirmed that avian influenza was the cause of the death of over 15,000 ducks in parts of Kuttanad area in Alappuzha District, a top official of state Animal Husbandry Department said.
A team of veterinarians had already been deputed to the affected areas to take necessary measures to contain the spread of the disease, Director-in-Charge of the department, Dr V Brhamanandan said.

Surveillance had been stepped up around 10 km of the areas from where the mass death of ducks had been reported recently.
Also, the transportation of egg and duck meat from these places had been stopped, he said.
Over 15,000 ducks had died at Thalavadi and Purakkad in the Kuttanad area in recent days.
The government has called a high-level meeting here tomorrow to discuss the situation and take steps to arrest the spread of the infection.
According to World Health Organisation, Avian influenza, commonly called Bird flu, is an infectious viral disease of birds and most avian influenza viruses do not infect humans.