Bird flu hits two poultry farms in Kozhikode, nearly 13,000 chickens to be culled

The bird flu has not yet spread to humans, informed Health officials, while an alert has been issued in the district.

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Bird flu virus was confirmed in two poultry farms in Kozhikode district of Kerala. The influenza was found to have spread in a farm at Vengara and Kodiyathur.

The state Animal Husbandry department has decided to cull more than 12,900 chickens following the outbreak and issued high alert in the district.

Apart from the farm chickens, the poultry flock and other domesticated birds near the farms where the flu was confirmed, will also be identified and culled.

The presence of the virus was confirmed after tests from the laboratory at Bhopal returned positive. Several birds have died in the farms in the last few days. After the virus was confirmed, an immediate meeting of various departments was held in Kozhikode collectorate on Saturday morning.

The bird flu has not yet spread to humans, informed Health officials. The department has constituted 25 teams, which includes teams of five members each, to handle the issue. The department has informed everyone who lives within a 10 kilometre radius of these farms to be alerted.

"Nothing to worry about the bird flu. When it’s summer, such diseases will affect the birds. The last big outbreak of the flu was in 2016, when numerous ducks died. Teams comprising health and veterinary departments are actively trying to avoid the spread of the disease. All arrangements have been done to cull the birds. We have to be very careful in 2020. As it's a cyclical year, there is a possibility of increase in contagious diseases. It may be because of climatic changes. That doesn't mean we should be scared. Just follow the instructions given by Health department," Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja told media in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday.

The last major outbreak of bird flu in 2016, was among ducks in Alappuzha district, mainly in Kuttanad. Thousands of ducks died and were culled following the outbreak. It had badly affected the duck farmers at that time.