6000 plus chickens dead, govt team says 'may not be bird flu'

ITAHARI, Feb 4: A team of veterinarians from Directorate of Animal Health (DoAH) that visited two poultry farms in Sunsari district on Saturday after 6,500 chickens died in the last three weeks said that the disease may not be necessarily bird flu.



"Going by the symptoms of the disease, it may not be bird flu," said senior veterinarian Dr Ganesh Raj Panta, who led the team.

The team visited P K Poultry Firm in Itahari and Pathibhara Poultry Firm in Khanar. Altogether 3,500 chickens at P K Firm and 3,000 chickens at Pathibhara firm have died since January 10. [break]



Veterinarians said the disease that killed so many chickens could be Ranikhet and Gambaro. A chicken infected with Ranikhet disease suffers from diarrhea, visible tiredness, head spin and paralysis. A chicken infected with Gambaro disease also suffers from similar problems.

The team advised the farmers to put on masks while giving food pellets to their chickens.



According to Bhola Adhikari, proprietor of Pathibhara firm, chickens are still dying every day. "Initially, two or three chickens died in a day," Adhikari said. "Now, more than 150 chickens are dying every day."



The samples have already been sent to the UK to confirm if the disease is bird flu. The report of the test is expected to come next week.

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