Bird flu epidemic in Nepal: Over 1.30 lakh birds destroyed

Kathmandu. Bird flu infection has taken a severe form in Nepal. According to the latest report made public by the Rapid Response Team of the Government of Nepal and the National Animal Health Information System, the infection has spread to six different districts of the country as of April 15, 2008.

The first infection of this fiscal year started on March 19, 2002 from Sundarharaincha-4 and Urlabari-8 of Morang district of Koshi Province, which has now expanded to other major poultry areas.

According to the data so far, bird flu has been confirmed in 33 poultry farms in the country. The government has so far culled a total of 130,912 birds across the country to prevent further spread of the virus. Along with birds, 237,562 eggs and 33,445 kg of feed were buried safely in the pit.

In terms of the number of birds destroyed, 53,721 birds at 10 farms have been killed in Sunsari district, while 17 farms have been affected the most.

Chitwan, Jhapa, Bara and Nawalparasi (West) are the other districts where the infection has spread. A total of 18,863 birds were killed in a single farm in Chitwan while 15,390 birds were killed in three farms of Jhapa.

Similarly, 2,865 birds were destroyed in Bara and 208 birds in Nawalparasi (West). To prevent the spread of the disease in other districts, measures have been taken to control the disease with the help of security personnel in coordination with all the three tiers of government. The concerned authorities have said that necessary interventions have been taken to control the disease at the source by sealing off the infected area.