Image by Capri23auto from Pixabay
Bengaluru: The emergence of bird flu in Kerala, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh has raised alarms in the neighbouring states. Health minister Dr K Sudhakar, on Tuesday, directed health officers of the districts on Karnataka’s border to stay vigilant.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Dr Sudhakar said that guidelines will be issued to all the districts regarding necessary action to be taken. He added that even though he has not yet received any information of avian flu in the state, he has directed the health officers in the border districts to “be alert”.
The Zoo Authority of Karnataka had earlier stated that preventive and containment measures have been taken across zoos in Karnataka, as per the guidelines issued by the Central Zoo Authority. The authority added that members of the public can report any deaths of birds to the nearest forest and veterinary hospital.
It can be recalled that earlier, the presence of the dreaded virus was confirmed in some ducks in Kerala’s in Kottayam and Alappuzha districts, following which the State Minister for Forest, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development K. Raju ordered the culling of 50,000 ducks to contain the spread of the infection.
Officials also confirmed that as many as 12,000 ducks have died.
(With inputs from PTI and IANS)
