KERALA: The Centre on Thursday dispatched a team of experts from the Health Ministry to Kerala to take stock of the avian influenza outbreak in the state.
The ministry said in a statement – The team will investigate the outbreak in detail and submit a report with recommendations. The seven-member central team to Kerala headed by Dr Rajesh Kedamani, Sr RD, Regional Office of Health and Family Welfare, Bangalore comprises experts drawn from the National Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases, New Delhi; the National Centre for Disease Control, New Delhi; the National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai; and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.
The team will not only investigate the avian influenza outbreak in detail but also submit a report. The team will also submit recommendations on avian influenza- an official from the ministry added.
An outbreak of avian influenza has been confirmed in the Alappuzha district. Authorities have started operations to cull over 20,000 birds in the Vazhuthanam ward in Haripad Municipality to check the spread of the disease.
The presence of the infection was confirmed after the samples of dead birds were sent to the National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal for examination. From 28 October, all birds located within a km radius of the epicentre of the disease would be culled, district authorities said in a statement. As many as 20,471 ducks would be killed and eight Rapid Response Teams (RRTs), with 10 members each, are engaged in culling operations as per the directives of veterinarians and adhering to the central norms in this regard, it added.