The Karnataka government has issued high alert in all the districts as the cases of bird flu have been increasing in the neighboring state. The moves come after the Kerala government announced the bird flu outbreak in Kottayam and Alappuzha districts and has ordered the culling of about 60,000 poultry birds and ducks.
At present, no cases of bird flu or mass bird deaths have been reported in Karnataka. But the Karnataka’s Animal Husbandry Department has been taking all the preventive measures needed to reduce the spread of bird flu virus in the state.
Karnataka Animal Husbandry minister Prabhu Chavan has ordered officials to set up checkpoints in all the districts bordering Kerala including Mysuru, Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu and Chamrajnagar to inspect poultry birds arriving from Kerala. The checkpoints will prohibit the entry of poultry birds and products infected with the bird flu virus and will allow the transport of non-infected products only after proper sanitization.
Prabhu Chavan has also asked the officers to collect samples from areas where migratory birds are often seen and to submit daily reports on the preventive measures taken to combat bird flu to the Deputy Directors of the department. The officials are also directed to strictly follow all the protocols and guidelines issued by the central government to curb the spread of bird flu.
Mysuru DC Rohini Sindhuri said that no cases of bird flu have been reported in the district yet and no decision has been made on closing the Mysuru Zoo which attracts a large number of migratory birds.
