Avian Influenza Outbreak: Health Ministry To Send 7-Member High-Level Team To Kerala For Investigation

The update comes at a time when a bird flu outbreak has been confirmed at Vazhuthanam in Haripad municipality. 

The infection first spread among ducks in Kerala (Image for representation) ( Image Source :Pixabay )

Chennai: The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry on Wednesday decided to depute a high-level team to Kerala to take stock of Avian Influenza outbreak in the state.

In a release, PIB said, “The team will investigate the outbreak in detail and submit report with recommendations. The seven-member Central team to Kerala comprises of experts drawn from the National Institute of Tuberculosis & Respiratory Diseases, New Delhi, National Centre for Disease Control, New Delhi, National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai and All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi”

“The team is headed by Dr. Rajesh Kedamani, Sr RD, Regional Office of Health and Family Welfare, Bangalore” it said.

The update comes at a time when a bird flu outbreak has been confirmed at Vazhuthanam in Haripad municipality. 

As a precautionary measure, the authorities have decided to cull 20,000 birds in Haripad. The flu was first detected in dead ducks in Vazhuthanam Padinjare and Vazhuthanam Vadakke. 

The dead birds were detected with H5N1 subtype of Influenza A virus. 

The issue started when two farmers who were raising 20,000 ducks lost 1,500 birds in the past week. As many deaths were reported from the same farm, the Animal Husbandry Department sent the samples to National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) in Bhopal. The NIHSAD confirmed that the ducks were positive for avian influenza, said a report on The Hindu.

The district Collector Teja held a meeting with the officials to discuss the spread of the infection. They have decided to form eight rapid response force teams to cull the birds. They are likely to begin the operation on Thursday.

Avian Influenza will mainly affect birds but can also pass on from human to human.