Bird flu under control in Kerala, assure experts
H5N8 virus has not spread to other places.
Thiruvananthapuram: Officials on Wednesday said that there was no need for anxiety as bird flu had been brought under control in the state.
Expert teams had visited bird flu affected areas in Alappuzha. There were some suspected cases from areas bordering Alappuzha and Kottayam. Animal Husbandry Minister K Raju met delegation of farmers from Kuttanad who expressed their apprehensions in the wake of bird flu. He assured the farmers that all assistance would be provided to the farmers to counter deal with the problem.
Official sources said that situation was under control as H5N8 had not spread to other areas. They said the chances of bird flu infecting human beings were very remote.
“But still there is no room for complacency. Those people handling birds including poultry like chicken and ducks need to wash their hands and legs using soap,” he added.
The experts pointed out that people would not get H5N1 even if they took bath in the ponds where ducks were found dead during the recent episode of bird flu. They urged the people residing in affected areas to cooperate with the authorities concerned to disinfect the places where bird flu was reported.
Sources said the teams would keep a close watch on the poultry to and from the affected areas to check the spread of virus. The farmers in Kuttanad have retiereated the demand for setting up National Duck Research Unit in the district. Such a unit was important for training the duck farmers in Kuttanad area.
The farmers in Kuttanad area are a worried lot as the recurrence of birdflu after two years has created a scare. It may be recalled that during the 2014 a massive prevention and containment activities had been carried out birdflu hit areas. More than 25,000 house visits were made by the official and nearly 1 lakh people were screened.
A section of farmers have also demanded the setting up of state of the art laboratory on the lines of Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (RDDL) Bangalore for checking samples.