A four-member Central team from the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD), Government of India, will carry out field investigations in Kozhikode district from Monday to Wednesday in view of the Nipah virus outbreak.
The team, which is expected to arrive on Sunday night, consists of H.R. Khanna, Joint Commissioner (National Livestock Mission), Vijay Kumar Teotia, Joint Commissioner (Livestock Health), and one expert each from the ICAR-National Institute of High Security Diseases, Bhopal, and the Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Bengaluru.
Nipah is a zoonotic disease affecting both humans and animals.
The DAHD has directed the team to submit daily reports and advise the Animal Husbandry department on measures for disease prevention keeping in mind the ‘One Health’ approach.
The Central team will be joined by a team from the State Institute for Animal Diseases (SIAD), Palode.
This team will consist of Sheela Saly T. George, Chief Disease Investigation Officer; Nandakumar, Disease Investigation Officer; and veterinary surgeons. The SIAD team has also requested experts from the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU) and the State Forest department to be part of the team.
Surveillance
Last week, the State Animal Husbandry department had stepped up surveillance in the livestock sector in view of the Nipah outbreak in Kozhikode district.
The department had also issued a set of guidelines for farmers and the public.
In pigs, for instance, the disease affects the respiratory system and the nervous system. Chronic cough is a major symptom in pigs. Steps were taken to identify pig farms near the epicentre of the outbreak and put them under surveillance for symptoms.
