Avian flu panic spreads, Kokkare Bellur disinfected after death of 7 pelicans

MYSURU: The H5N8 virus panic has spread to Kokkare Bellur village in Maddur taluk, the abode of lakhs of migratory birds, mostly storks. In 20 days, seven stock-billed pelican died in the village, putting residents on edge.
Coming in the wake of the deaths of migratory birds at Mysuru Zoo recently due to the H5N8 virus, the Mandya district administration decided to take up the massive task of spraying disinfectant at Kokkare Bellur village.
On Friday, deputy commissioner S Ziyaullah along with tahsildar Harsha, DCF Ganesh Bhat, and veterinarian Shivalingaiah visited the village for an inspection. DC Ziyaullah asked the villagers not to panic as the recent deaths of pelicans in the village is not due to bird flu, which was confirmed by a lab report.
The villagers were directed to inform the authorities if they noticed any death of poultry or migratory birds in the village, and to wear masks if there was any suspicion of bird flu. Taluk officials took up spraying of disinfectant in the village as a precautionary measure.
B Lingegowda of Kokkare Bellur, who is an active member of the Pelican Conservation Committee, said that for the past 20 days, seven pelicans died under mysterious circumstances. “We have not noticed such deaths in the village earlier. The authorities suspect that the pelicans may have died after consuming water from a nearby water tank. The deaths have created panic among the villagers,” he said.
“The villagers have made public announcements, requesting people not to use water from the tank for drinking or to give to cattle. The tank will be taken for cleaning,” he said.
Stock-billed pelicans which arrived in November have started breeding, while the painted stork is expected to arrive at Kokkare Bellur by the end of January, DCF Ganesh Bhat and Maddur forest officer Suresh and other officers said. They visited the village and collected information from the villagers, inspected the tank and collected water samples and droppings of the migratory birds.
The forest department conducted a postmortem on two pelicans out of the seven dead. One pelican which was ill, was treated by veterinarians and released in its natural surroundings. The veterinarians kept another pelican under observation at the department.
Meanwhile, Akhila Karnataka Parisara Jagruthi Vedike state president T Mahadevaswamy demanded that the forest department should plant trees to help migratory birds build nests and the tourism department should remove mobile towers and electric poles which are a danger to the birds.