In the face of the rising incidents of bird flu cases, a joint meeting of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division (EDCD) of the Department of Health Services (DoHS) and the Department of Livestock Services (DoLS) has decided to import chickens into Kathmandu for one week. The meeting also decided to vaccinate all chickens against bird flu virus. [break]
Republica´s Om Astha Rai and Pratibha Rawal caught up with G.D. Thakur, Director of the EDCD, to find out what the government is doing to control the spread of bird flu virus in the Kathmandu Valley.
How many bird flu incidents have been reported so far in the Kathmandu Valley?
There have been 35 bird flu incidents in the Kathmandu Valley in the last couple of years. Although the first detection occurred about five years ago, the virus spread to the valley only two years ago. Frequency at which bird flu incidents are being reported has grown rapidly in the past few weeks.
How is the virus affecting the country?
It has caused heavy financial losses. It has badly affected the poultry sector, which has grown over the years to become one of the major pillars of the country´s economy. It is a sign of great worry. On the other hand, it is fast developing into a public health scare. International surveys have shown that over 60 percent of the people infected with bird flu virus meet with death. Luckily, nobody has been infected with bird flu in Nepal so far. If bird flu gets transmitted to people, it can result in a great loss.
To what extent has the threat grown in Nepal?
Since the virus has not affected people so far, we still have time to limit the damage. It would be very dangerous if bird flu spreads to humans. We must contain bird flu before it spreads to human population. If not contained immediately, bird flu may emerge as the biggest threat to public health in near future.
What is the government doing to control bird flu?
The government has taken very strong measures to contain bird flu. For example, on Monday, following a recent spurt in bird flu incidents in the Kathmandu Valley, the government placed a ban on import of chickens into the capital. The ban will be in effect for one week. During this period, export of chicken from the Valley will also be banned. Similarly, the government has decided to vaccinate all chickens against bird flu virus. These measures, if implemented effectively, will definitely bring the situation under control.
How is your department involved in containing the bird flu virus?
As soon as bird flu a bird flu case is confirmed, we conduct a meeting with the Department of Livestock Services (DoLS). Our joint meeting takes official decision to cull all the chickens in the bird flu-hit poultry farms. We seek the police´s support for this purpose. We provide medicines to all the people directly involved in culling and examine their health. Meanwhile, we keep around 100 families living in the vicinity of bird flu-hit poultry farm under active surveillance. If more than five people suffer from cough and flu at the same time in the area, they should immediately inform us. And we go there and examine their health conditions. We also keep the people involved in poultry business under high surveillance. They are the ones who are highly susceptible to contract the virus. We have a monitoring cell at our department that keeps constant vigil on the bird flu-hit poultry farms.
Why are we seeing one bird flu incidents after another despite so many preventive measures?
It is because H5N1 virus, which is the most common strain of bird flu in Nepal, has already mixed up with our environment. We could not control the import of chickens from India. As we share a long porous border with India, it was simply impossible to tightly monitor the import of chickens. We are still unable prevent the import of infected chickens into the Kathmandu Valley. We need to set up more check posts to ensure that bird flu does not affect the valley. I have learnt that chickens can be imported to Kathmandu from India through Sindhuli-Bhaktapur route quite easily even now. There is no check point on that route. We must ensure that check points are in operation along all routes to Kathmandu. Only then we can save the Valley from the spread of bird flu.
Does the mixing up of the virus with our environment, as you said earlier, mean bird flu can spread to any chicken farm in the Valley?
Yes. In the valley, bird flu has been found not only in the chickens imported from India but also in the ones that were hatched here. This is why we have decided to vaccinate all chicken against bird flu. The DoLS will be responsible for vaccinating all the chicken.
What should we do to protect ourselves from bird flu?
Those who do not have frequent direct contact with chickens are less likely to contract bird flu virus. Also, people who cook their chicken well do not have to worry much. Those who are involved in poultry farming should take certain precautions. They must build poultry farms away from their houses. Poultry farms should be kept clean. Chicken manure should be disposed properly.
There have been reports that poultry farmers sell chickens in the market as soon as bird flu is confirmed in their farms. How dangerous is such trend?
This is very dangerous. It is in fact a crime and a punishable offence. It is very wrong morally, too. Some poultry farmers might have supplied chickens from their bird flu-affected farm to the market to avoid financial loss. It is because they get very less compensation after their chickens are culled. To deal with this situation, we must raise awareness among poultry farmers. At the same time, the government should also increase the amount of compensation to poultry farmers.
Major bird flu outbreaks in capital
On December 23, the vet technicians found H5N1 virus infected chickens in the poultry farm in Ramkot-6, Kathmandu. 2,500 chickens of the farm had already died due to disease and the team only found 19,444 eggs sent to hatchery.
On Feb 10, the vet technicians culled 2,610 chickens and 1,000 kg of chicken feed in the poultry farm in Jitpurphedi VDC, Kathmandu, following confirmation of the virus.
On Feb 11, the vet technicians culled all 2,753 chickens in the poultry farm in Nayapati VDC following confirmation of the H5N1 virus. Of the 3,000 chickens in the farm, the remaining 247 had already died due to the disease.
On May 15, the vet technicians killed 200 chickens following confirmation of H5N1 in a poultry farm in Kirtipur -1 Tyanglaphant, Kathmandu.
On May 14, the vet technicians culled 1,465 chickens in a poultry farm in Mulpani VDC-3.
On May 21, the vet technicians culled 475 chickens and 335 ducks following confirmation of bird flu virus in a poultry farm in Dhapasi-6, Kathmandu.
On June 7, the vet technician culled 4,298 chickens from Chapagain Poultry Farm in Gothatar-6, Kathmandu. The vet technicians had also destroyed 2,038 eggs and 1,400 kg chicken feed stored in the farm.
On July 1, the District Veterinary Office (DVO) of Kathmandu found 2,000 chickens infected with H5N1 virus of bird flu in a farm in Gothatar-4. Some 600 chickens had already died of infection.
On July 23, the vet technicians killed 5,953 bird flu tainted chickens in a poultry farm in Thankot, Kathmandu. The team also destroyed 330 eggs and 1,450 kg chicken feeds stored in the farm.
On July 23, the vet technicians culled 756 bird flu infected chickens in a poultry farm in Kritipur-17, Kathmandu. The team destroyed 1,339 eggs and 400 kg chicken feed found in the farm.
On July 26, the Directorate of Animal Health (DoAH) culled 2,500 chickens in a poultry farm in Ramkot-8, Kathmandu. They had also destroyed 350 kg chicken feed stored at the farm. Adhikar´s farm had 3,500 chickens out of which 1000 had died due to the disease.
On July 26, the vet technicians culled chickens in the poultry farm in Kritipur-12, Kathmandu.
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