Dozens Of Bats Found Dead In Kerala; Officials Collect Samples

The residents of Karassery panchayat in Kozhikode district of Kerala on Tuesday, March 10, found dozens of bats lying dead in the Kaarimoola neighbourhood.

Locals informed the officials, who later came to take stock of the situation. Dr KV Uma, district animal husbandry, told the media that samples have been collected from dead bats to be tested in the lab., reported The Indian Express. She said the officials have cremated and incinerated the dead bats.

Kerala has also detected two strains of bird flu in two poultry farms in Kozhikode district.

The H5 and H7 strains of the flu under the Type-A Influenza were confirmed at the farms through tests after the mass death of chickens in poultry farms.

On March 9, officials who are part of rapid response teams started culling as many as 12,000 birds, mainly chicken, love birds and turkey.

The culling of birds took place in a one-km radius of the poultry farms in Vengeri and Kadiyathoor, the outbreak site.

As a preventive measure, the officials have ordered to shut the closure of farms as well as shops selling eggs and chicken within a ten-km radius of the outbreak epicentre. The government has also assured the owners that they will be compensated for their losses.

The residents of Karassery were also worried due to the Nipah virus outbreak that was reported in Kozhikode in 2018, which killed 18 people in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts.

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