Rapid response team members began culling of birds in areas affected by the H5N1 strain of the avian influenza in Kozhikode district on Saturday (March 21), even as the Health department issued an alert for the public and those who interact with domestic birds.

In a release, K.K. Rajaram, District Medical Officer, said that the viral infection normally spreads from birds to birds, but it can also be transmitted from birds to human beings. Those who rear the affected birds, homemakers, butchers, veterinary doctors, and their helpers need to take preventive measures. Severe body pain, fever, cough, breathing problems, a runny nose, and blood in phlegm are some of the symptoms in human beings.

A total of 14,228 domestic birds within a one-km radius of the identified epicentres in Panangad, Kakkodi, Olavanna, and Perumanna grama panchayats and the Nallalam area in the Kozhikode Corporation are being killed. As many as 1,250 chickens were culled on Saturday. In the next phase, the birds not included in the culling exercise will be killed through a “mopping” exercise, and hidden or shifted birds will be eliminated through a “combing” operation. The authorities have also banned the sale and transport of domestic birds within a 10-km radius of these areas.