Masked men can be seen working diligently in Alappuzha - their one one and only task is to cull lakhs of ducks. The ducks in Kottayam and Alappuzha districts were the first in Kerala to be hit by bird flu's infectious H5N1 virus strain. But as these masked men carry on their work, standing and watching them from the sidelines are many unmasked local residents. They watch the culling and burning from within the alert zone despite warnings by the district administration.