Kochi: Over 20,000 poultry birds have been killed in Haripad municipality in Kerala's Alappuzha district after the outbreak of bird flu was confirmed, police said on Sunday. This step has been taken on the orders of the government. Alappuzha District Collector V.R. An emergency meeting was called to decide the measures under the leadership of Krishna Teja. The presence of the H5N1 subtype of influenza A virus has been reported in ducks, he said.

Eight rapid response teams have been sent to the area to start the killing process and a total of 20471 ducks have been killed so far. As the process of killing birds progressed under the leadership of District Animal Protection Officer DS Bindu, public representatives and officials of various departments, including revenue and health, visited the infected area. Bird flu, also known as avian influenza, was confirmed in ducks of two poultry farms in Vazhuthanam West and Vajuthanam North in the 9th ward of Haripad municipality. 

District officials said all birds located within a one-km radius of the epicentre of the virus havoc will also be culled from today. They have also banned the transportation of birds within a kilometre of the virus spreading. Apart from this, residents of the area have also been asked to be careful to avoid the virus spreading to humans.

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