Police said they will check with other customers who purchased chicken from Khalid’s shop. (Picture for representation)

Two poultry farms in Kerala’s Kozhikode district Saturday reported cases of bird flu prompting authorities to order culling of ducks and hens within one km radius of the affected area.

District Collector Sreeram Sambasiva Rao, chaired an urgent meeting of officials of the Animal Husbandry, Health and police to take stock of the situation in the wake of the outbreak of the Avian flu, news agency PTI reported.

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Interacting with reporters, Rao said that the state government has come up with an action plan that includes the deployment of action teams each comprising five members including one from the Animal Husbandry and Health departments. He also advised the public not to panic and said that necessary steps were being taken to contain the spread.

“Swift action has been initiated to cull all chickens, ducks and other domestic birds in and around one-kilometre radius of the two farms. This is only to prevent the spreading of the virus to nearby areas,” Rao was quoted as saying by the news agency.

Bird flu occurs naturally in wild waterfowl and can spread to domestic poultry, such as chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese.

(Inputs from PTI)