Poultry from Kerala banned in Nilgiris amid bird flu outbreak

The Nilgiris administration has begun monitoring the movement of poultry and poultry products into the district, with their entry from Kerala being temporarily suspended due to an avian flu outbreak in Alappuzha and Kottayam.

The district administration, in a press release, stated that teams of staff from the Department of Animal Husbandry, including a veterinary assistant surgeon, veterinary inspector, and other staff, will be stationed at seven checkposts bordering Kerala and one bordering Karnataka (Kakkanallah). They will check the entry of all poultry products and ensure that poultry from Kerala is not permitted into the district.

In an advisory to poultry farmers, the district administration stated that avian flu affects chickens, ducks, turkeys, and wild birds, and that it can also infect humans. “There is a possibility of the disease entering our district through wild birds arriving here from foreign countries,” it stated.

To prevent the spread of bird flu, farmers must prevent wild birds from entering their farms, while different kinds of poultry should not be kept and maintained in the same farm. Outsiders should not be allowed within the farm premises, and farm equipment must be disinfected and not be shared among different farms, it was advised. Farmers were also directed to inform the nearest government veterinarian of any unusual deaths of poultry and wild birds in their farms.

The advisory further stated that avian flu can spread through respiratory droplets from people handling infected birds, and that risk of infection can be avoided by cooking chicken and eggs at a high temperature. The District Collector has also suspended the import of poultry, eggs, and feed from Kerala until further notice, it stated.