The Minister, according to a government release, said that all districts have been alerted and everyone should follow directions issued by the Health department. The release said that the Health department was monitoring for fever and other symptoms among people in the affected areas. Symptoms of the infection in humans include severe upper back pain, fever, cough, shortness of breath, cold and blood in the sputum, it said.

Those at risk of the infection should get in touch with the nearest health center or a doctor on noticing any of these symptoms or if they have respiratory problems, the release said. It also said that bird flu or avian influenza is an infectious viral disease found in birds which is not usually transmitted to humans. But it can infect in rare cases due to a mutation in the virus, it said.

Therefore, those who come into contact with birds -- infected and healthy -- should take preventive measures like wearing gloves, face masks and washing hands frequently, the release said. The disease can affect all kinds of birds like chicken, duck, quail, goose, turkey and ornamental birds, it said.?On Saturday, bird flu was confirmed in one of the wards of Chempu panchayat in Kottayam district and 1,317 birds, including ducks, chickens and love birds were culled.

Revenue, health, police, panchayat and animal protection departments worked jointly to cull the birds and scientifically destroy the remains, the district administration said in a release.