Multiple H5N1 outbreaks in Kerala

Kerala has confirmed a fresh H5N1 bird-flu outbreak in Kottayam, extending a run of farm infections that state and international agencies have tracked since late 2025. (thehindu.com) The latest case was confirmed in ward 16 of Udayanapuram grama panchayat in Vaikom taluk, and Kottayam district officials ordered culling within a 1-kilometer radius of the infected site. They also declared a 10-kilometer surveillance zone. (thehindu.com) Within that surveillance belt, officials banned the sale, transport, and use of eggs, meat, manure, and other poultry products from ducks, chickens, quails, and other domestic birds for three days. Movement of poultry, eggs, meat, and manure into or out of the zone was barred for three months. (thehindu.com) H5N1 is a subtype of influenza A virus that mainly infects birds, especially poultry, and can kill large numbers of farm birds quickly. India’s National Centre for Disease Control said highly pathogenic strains such as H5 and H7 can cause more than 75% mortality in chicken farms. (ncdc.mohfw.gov.in) Human infection is uncommon, but health agencies treat these outbreaks seriously because people can be exposed through infected birds and contaminated farm environments. India’s National Centre for Disease Control said the main risk factors include direct contact during culling, plucking, handling, or work in live-bird settings without protective gear. (ncdc.mohfw.gov.in) The Kottayam case follows a larger cluster that India reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health in January 2026. That report said Kerala recorded 11 highly pathogenic H5N1 outbreaks in December 2025, with 54,100 birds dead and 30,289 more culled as a precaution. (health.economictimes.indiatimes.com) Those December outbreaks were detected from December 9 and confirmed on December 22, according to the report cited by Reuters. It described them as India’s first poultry outbreaks reported to the animal-health body since May 2025. (health.economictimes.indiatimes.com) Globally, H5N1 has remained under close watch as it has spread widely in birds and occasionally infected people in multiple countries. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its global H5N1 human-case tracker on April 10, 2026, using World Health Organization reports dating back to 1997. (cdc.gov) Indian guidance says there is no evidence that properly cooked poultry or eggs transmit H5N1 to humans. For Kerala, that leaves the immediate focus on farm controls: culling infected flocks, limiting movement, and trying to stop another district-level outbreak from spreading. (ncdc.mohfw.gov.in)