With more cases of bird flu in chickens emerging by the day, Bhaktapur has been declared as a bird flu emergency zone. Such a declaration was made at a meeting between the Department of Livestock Services (DoLS) and poultry farmers on Saturday. It also recommended for a blanket culling of chickens in the district. Determining Bhaktapur as the source of the outbreak inside the Kathmandu valley, the meeting concluded that stringent measures have to be taken to stop the virus from spreading to other parts of the country. The meeting also recommended for the closure of the chicken feed industries for five days in the district. As many as 41 cases of bird flu have been reported since the outbreak was first seen 26 days ago. DoLS spokesperson Dr Narayan Ghimire said that the team of animal health experts had recommended the blanket culling of chickens and declaring Bhaktapur as emergency zone. “It is up to the government whether to give a go ahead to our recommendation,” said Dr Ghimire. If the decision is implemented, the District Avian Influenza Technical Coordination Committee headed by the chief district officer, will have to implement the final decision of culling all the chickens of the district. “The government will direct the committee to implement the recommendation,” said Jaya Mukunda Khanal, secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, who was also present at the meeting. However, Chairman of Nepal Hatchery Association Shiva Prasad Sharma said the government should compensate the poultry farmers before implementing the decision. “We have already incurred a heavy loss and the government has to provide assistance to start our business afresh,” said Sharma, adding that many farmers have also been asking for insurance of chickens and loans. On August 1, the government had imposed a week-long ban on import, export and distribution of chickens to control the bird flu outbreak inside the valley. But bowing down to pressure from the entrepreneurs, it failed to extend the ban despite the continued spread of the virus. Meanwhile, a government rapid response team on Saturday detected one more case of bird flu on a farm owned by Roshni Budathoki of Sipadol-8 in Bhaktapur. A team led by chief of the Sipadol service centre Bishnu Tamang had conducted the test on the spot with the rapid test kit to confirm the H5N1 virus. Dr Narayan Ghimire, spokesperson for the Department of Livestock Services, said the officials have slaughtered 429 chickens on the farm. Besides, the H5N1 strain of the flu was confirmed on Saturday on three other poultry farms belonging to Suresh Thapa of Bhaktapur-8, Bishwo Heju of Chittapol-1 and Ram Prasad Kisi of Ghoukhel-8. The government and poultry farmers had on Thursday agreed to supply chickens in the market only after a clean bill of health from a certified veterinary doctor. The decision has not been implemented effectively so far. The government has deployed four veterinary doctors and officials at four checkpoints—Nagdhunga, Pharping, Sanga and Nagarjun—for quarantine.
Posted on: Sun, 11 Aug 2013 06:55:43 +0000
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