NILGIRIS: As a precaution following reports of bird flu outbreak in Kerala, disinfectant spraying of vehicles has begun at Tamil Nadu–Kerala border checkposts, including in the Nilgiris district.

Avian influenza (H5N1) has been reported in Kerala’s Kottayam and Alappuzha districts. In response, the Kerala government has activated a state-level rapid response team under Health Minister Veena George and issued guidelines to contain the spread of the infection.

To prevent the disease from entering Tamil Nadu, the state government has instructed the health and animal husbandry departments to step up surveillance and preventive measures along the border. Accordingly, officials have been deployed at border points in Kanniyakumari, Coimbatore, Theni and the Nilgiris to monitor vehicle movement.

In the Nilgiris, animal husbandry department officials on Friday began spraying disinfectants on vehicles at the Naduvattam check post near Gudalur. Similar measures will be extended to other checkposts, including Pattavayal, Thalur and Choladi, officials said.

Officials said no cases or symptoms of bird flu have been detected in Tamil Nadu so far and that the steps being taken are purely precautionary.

Meanwhile, trained community volunteers are conducting awareness and prevention activities in affected areas of Kerala. People showing symptoms such as fever, severe body pain, cough and breathlessness are being monitored. Authorities have advised that poultry meat should be consumed only after thorough cooking and that dead birds should not be eaten.