A three-member central team reaches Kerala to assess the situation after the outbreak of bird flu in Alappuzha and Kottayam districts. The team comprising Union Health Ministry’s public health specialist Dr Ruchi Jain, Pune National Institute of Virology scientist Dr Shailesh Pawar and Delhi RML Hospital physician Dr Anith Jindal held
discussions with district authorities.
Nineteen Rapid Response Teams have been engaged in culling birds in both the districts. After the discussions, the team left for Karuvatta, one of the hotspots of the flu outbreak. The outbreak was initially reported in four panchayats of Nedumudi, Thakazhy, Pallippad and Karuvatta in Kuttanad region of the Alappuzha district and Neendoor in Kottayam district. Authorities have banned sale of bird meat and eggs in the affected regions. To provide relief to the affected farmers, the state government has decided to compensate them for culling their birds.
Culled birds which are over two-month-old will be given Rs200 each and those under the age of two-months will be compensated at Rs100 each, eggs destroyed due to the flu will be given a compensation of Rs 5 each, the Government has said.
