Avian flu outbreak in state-run poultry farm in Kerala's Kottayam

Kottayam(Kerala): An outbreak of avian flu (H5N1) at the government-run regional poultry farm at Manarcad here was confirmed by the district administration on Thursday.

Following the outbreak, a decision was taken to euthanize and cremate all domesticated and pet birds within a one kilometer radius of the poultry farm, the district administration said in a statement.

Disinfection steps will be taken in the affected area and a radius of 1 to 10 km from the poultry farm was declared as a surveillance zone, it said.

Besides that, a ban was imposed on the sale and import of poultry products of chicken, duck, quails and other birds in Kottayam district of the state.

The measures were taken in an inter-departmental meeting held at the Collectorate after District Collector V Vigneshwari confirmed the avian flu outbreak at the poultry farm run by the Animal Husbandry department.

Around nine thousand chickens were reared at the farm, it said.

The H5N1 outbreak was confirmed by the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases lab in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, after testing samples of the chickens which died in large numbers at the farm.