Kerala - Kollam   

Droopy kite creates bird flu scare

Staff Reporter

Serum samples of the bird have been sent to Bhopal diagnostic centre

CLOSER LOOK: The kite that created a bird flu scare in Kollam on Wednesday being examined by veterinary surgeons.

KOLLAM: A scavenger kite found lying in a droopy state in the compound of a house at Anandawalleshwaram in the city on Wednesday morning created a bird flu scare in the locality. The house owner said she noticed the kite lying in a fatigued condition at 8 a.m. She thought that the bird would fly away after some time.

But when the bird was lying there even in the afternoon, it triggered a scare among the neighbours. In the wake of the bird flu threat, many of them expressed doubts whether the kite could have contracted the H5N1 avian influenza virus. They soon informed the District Veterinary Centre (DVC). Veterinary surgeons D. Shine Kumar and B. Ajitbabu attached to the Bird Flu Rapid Response Team of the Animal Husbandry Department came to the scene. After preliminary examinations, the kite was transferred to the DVC and put in quarantine. Serum samples of the bird has been collected and sent to the High Security Animal Disease Diagnostic Centre, Bhopal.

Dr. Shine said that as per preliminary examinations, it appears that the kite could have got a shock from an electric line. The bird showed some positive responses when administered with fluids. But the DVC is not taking chances. The serum sample results are expected in a week's time and if the kite is bird flu free, it will be set free. Till that time the kite will be tended to by the Kollam unit of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

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