New Delhi: The Union health ministry has deployed a high-level seven-member team to Kerala to investigate the avian influenza outbreak in the state. The team will investigate the outbreak in detail and submit a report with recommendations on avian influenza.

The 7 member Central team to Kerala comprises of experts drawn from the National Institute of Tuberculosis & Respiratory Diseases, New Delhi, National Centre for Disease Control, New Delhi, National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai and All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in a statement.

The team is headed by Dr. Rajesh Kedamani, Sr RD, Regional Office of Health and Family Welfare, Bangalore.

The team will also assist the State Health Departments in terms of public health measures, management guidelines and protocols to manage the increasing cases of Avian Influenza being reported by the State, the statement added.

According to a LiveMint report, the outbreak of avian influenza has been confirmed among ducks in the Alappuzha district. With the confirmation, the authorities have started operations to cull over 20,000 birds in Vazhuthanam ward in Haripad Municipality to check the spread of the disease.

The presence of the infection was confirmed after the samples of dead birds were sent to the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal for examination. From 28 October, all birds located within a km radius of the epicentre of the disease would be culled, district authorities said in a statement.

Considering outbreak of the avian influenza, the sale and consumption of the egg and meat from domestic birds including duck, hen, quail and so on have been banned in Haripad Municipality and various nearby panchayats, the report added.