Thiruvananathapuram: Concerns over the avian influenza virus, better known as bird flu, increased in Kerala on Wednesday with reports that the disease had spread to poultry in Pathanamthitta district, too. The disease had so far been reported from Alappuzha and Kottayam districts.
The disease was confirmed by the Bhopal-based National Institute for High Security Animal Diseases. Close to 25,000 ducks are believed to have perished in Alappuzha district alone, even as the disease spread to chickens, too.
As the disease spread to more areas, authorities began a massive culling operation, which is estimated to put to death some 250,000 ducks, besides chickens. Culling operations began in Alappuzha district, with the animal husbandry department and panchayat officials collaborating in the exercise.
The state government on Wednesday announced a compensation to poultry farmers of Rs100 (Dh5.93) for each duckling that is below two months old and Rs200 for each duck that is over two months old that are killed. In all, Rs20 million (Dh1.19 million) has been allocated for the culling exercise.
The poultry will be killed and also burnt, in order to ensure that the virus does not spread to other areas. District collectors have been directed to ensure that the poultry are burnt after killing. Preventive medicines required for culling staff are being sourced from Rajasthan.
The state government has given a report to the federal government regarding the avian flu incidence, and a federal team has arrived in Kerala to take stock of the situation. Neighbouring Karnataka state has also given an alert regarding the spread of bird flu in Kerala. Within Kerala, a close watch is being kept at border points in Kollam and Ernakulam districts to ensure that diseased ducks are not smuggled into those districts for sale.
The news of bird flu has led to a crash in poultry prices in most parts of the state. While poultry sale has come to a complete standstill in Alappuzha district, prices per kg of chicken has fallen from Rs90 to less than Rs70 over the past few days.
Kerala’s poultry sector crisis is also affecting Tamil Nadu, because many chicken farms in Kerala are backed by suppliers in Tamil Nadu. A large number of Kerala poultry farms source chicks and feed from Tamil Nadu and sell full-grown poultry back to the suppliers. This business will be severely hit in the coming days as poultry from Kerala will not be accepted by other markets.
