A rapid response team comprising vet officials and technicians culled 5,953 bird flu tainted chickens in a poultry farm owned by Ram Shrestha in Thankot, Kathmandu. The team also destroyed 330 eggs and 1,450 kg chicken feeds stored in the farm. [break]
Likewise, another team of vet technicians culled 756 bird flu infected chickens in a poultry farm of KP Subedi in Kritipur-17, Kathmandu, the Directorate of Animal Health (DoAH) said. The team destroyed 1,339 eggs and 400 kg chicken feed found in the farm.
The DoAH said that Monday´s outbreak is 11th in the last three weeks. Out of 10,000 of layer type chickens at Shrestha´s farm, 4000 had already died of the disease. Meanwhile, Subedi told vet officials that he had 2,000 chickens but the rest had already died.
"We have stepped up surveillance of the poultry farms in the Valley," said Dr Bijayakant Jha, a DoAH official. He said that the vet technicians have culled over 35,000 chickens in Kathmandu´s poultry farms in the last three weeks. The office said that due to the loss inflicted by the bird flu virus, more poultry farmers have been giving up the profession. Farmers have to invest over Rs 1,000 per layer chicken till they are ready to lay eggs, but the government provides only Rs 130 per chicken as compensation.
The DoAh has sent samples of bird flu virus to a London-based laboratory to find out whether it is of same strain that has been identified in the past. Officials at DoAH said that the bird flu virus has been constantly changing its nature.
The virus has changed its form thrice since the first outbreak in 2009.
The vet doctors say avian flu (H5N1) virus mostly spread in winter season, but in Nepal the virus has been spreading even in summer.
The country has witnessed over 85 bird flu outbreaks since 2009.
Meanwhile, DoAH has urged all poultry farmers to take proper care of their chickens as the disease has been spreading rapidly. The office has urged poultry farmers to immediately inform vet officials if they detect chickens displaying suspicious behavior. Chickens infected with bird flu virus avoid feed, stand still with their heads down and drool.
The office has also appealed to the public to cook their chicken properly before eating and also to wash their hands properly with soap after touching any chicken.
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