ALAPPUZHA: Amidst the fear of bird flu reported at Kozhikode, the mass death of ducks in Upper Kuttanad has created panic among farmers. More than 4,000 ducks died in a few days at Thalavady, Edathua and other panchayats.
Biju, Karukaparambil, Thalavadi, said the ducks started showing drowsiness for the past few days and started to die. “I am raising more than 4,000 ducks out of which 800 died. We had administered various medicines as per the directions of the veterinary doctors, however, many died,” he said.
The ducks of other farmers also died after showing the same symptoms. “The samples taken from the carcasses were tested at the Avian Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Manjadi, near Tiruvalla and it has been found that Riemerella bacteria is the reason for the mass death. The disease was reported earlier in the area. We had begun steps to prevent the spread of the disease,” said ADH district officer Mary James. “It is not bird flu,” she said.
In 2017, bird flu was reported in the area and more than 5 lakh ducks were culled. Many farmers suffered losses running into lakhs of rupees due to the mass culling.