Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the year 2021 has started with the confirmation of avian influenza, commonly known as the bird flu hitting the country. In Kerala, over the last few days, nearly 12,000 ducks have died and the culling of nearly 40,000 birds in the districts of Alappuzha and Kottayam have begun to take place within a kilometre radius of the affected areas to contain the spread of the disease.

The Kerala government has also declared bird flu as a state disaster and issued a high alert, including a ban on the use and sale of poultry and associated products in affected regions. Avian influenza was also reported in 2016 in Alappuzha in which 21,131 birds were culled.

Nearly 2,000 kms away in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh, shops selling chicken and eggs were ordered to remain shut for a few days. This followed the death of 400 crows in 10 districts of the state. An alert has been issued to control further deaths. Samples tested at the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) in Bhopal confirmed the H5N8 strain of the virus causing avian influenza. 

The order to stop sale of poultry, birds, fish and related products was also issued by the district magistrate of Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh after more than 1,900 migratory birds (most of them bar-headed geese) died of the bird flu at the Pong Dam sanctuary. 

Migratory birds visit Pong Dam sanctuary in Himachal Pradesh every year.

Similarly, in Jhalawar in Rajasthan, 100 birds were found dead and the samples sent to Bhopal came back positive. “The situation is now better with fewer deaths at the epicentre. There has not been an impact on the poultry based on test reports,” Vikram Singh, joint director of the animal husbandry department in Jhalawar district, told Gaon Connection.  

Poultry birds were also found dead in Haryana where lab reports are awaited. In other states like Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, alerts have been sounded in precaution.

“It is possible for nearby poultry to be affected by the flu through contact with infected species which is why the regions where the flu is detected are told to restrict their trade and movement,” Ibne Ali who runs Ali’s Veterinary Wisdom in New Delhi and is involved in the welfare of livestock and poultry farmers and entrepreneurs, told Gaon Connection.

While strains of the influenza such as the H5N8 found in some places are highly pathogenic, human to human transmission does not take place in this case nor does it spread through the consumption of poultry products such as chicken and eggs, Ali said. 

However, it was very likely that in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic during which the poultry industry was so adversely impacted, the fear caused by the bird flu could further the damage as people may buy fewer poultry products, he added. 

According to the press release on January 6 by the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, four known major outbreaks in the country have been recorded in the last century, with the first outbreak of avian influenza reported in 2006. 

The press release also specified the measures that have been suggested to the states to control the spread of this flu such as strengthening biosecurity of poultry farms, disinfection, proper disposal of carcasses, submission of samples for confirmation, further surveillance, and general guidelines for prevention of disease spread from affected birds to poultry and humans. It also added that there is no direct evidence that it can spread to humans via poultry products.

During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, rumours linking coronavirus with chicken led people to reduce their intake which decreased wholesale prices of chicken and eggs, adversely affecting the poultry industry. 

Losses were projected at Rs 22,500 crore from the month of February 2020 and the subsequent lockdown. In addition, 53 per cent poultry and dairy farmers said they could not find buyers and among those who did, 60 per cent complained they did not get a fair price, according to Gaon Connection’s nationwide survey on the ‘Impact of Covid-19 on Rural India’. In Uttar Pradesh, for instance, 40 per cent of poultry farms were closed in early March 2020 amid fears. 

Another Gaon Connection survey of 6,040 rural respondents on the ‘Covid-19 Vaccine and Rural India’ found that more than half (56 per cent) of the respondents admitted to changing their eating and dietary habits due to the pandemic. Additional rumours about the spread of the coronavirus caused changes in consumption of non-vegetarian food with about 40 per cent of the respondents saying they had reduced eating meat with nearly 9 per cent saying they had stopped eating non-vegetarian food altogether.

The bird flu outbreak has led to fears within the poultry industry that people may once again reduce consumption of chicken and eggs. 

“The bird flu is most commonly spread through wild birds that migrate to water reservoirs which become the hubs of this virus. This is a common occurrence. In affected regions, poultry farms, sanctuaries falling within a  km radius are told to restrict movements of birds and poultry but otherwise, poultry birds tend to be kept in covered sheds in farms with relevant safety measures taken,” FM Sheikh, the President of the Poultry Farmers (Broilers) Welfare Federation in Uttar Pradesh explained to Gaon Connection adding that this kept the poultry birds relatively safe from contracting the flu. 

He pointed out how the poultry industry was already reeling under the impact of rumours about the consumption of poultry meat and eggs during the COVID-19 pandemic, with people reluctant to buy poultry products. “Fears due to the bird flu may also hit the industry hard, but in reality the virus does not spread to human beings through cooked poultry products and it is safe to continue the consumption of these products,” he assured Gaon Connection.