Poultry farm in Chitwan, Nepal reports bird flu outbreak

In a recent case of bird flu outbreak, the highly pathogenic avian flu (H1N1) virus was detected at one of the biggest poultry farms in Chitwan, Nepal.

Authorities have confirmed the disease at Laxmi Rana's poultry farm in Godrang of Bharatpur. The confirmation came after the outbreak claimed about 30,000 of the total 70,000 fowls at the farm.

After the Central Veterinary Laboratory confirmed the disease, a rapid response team from the district livestock office of Chitwan and the National Bird Disease Research Laboratory (NBDRL) reached the farm and started its operation from Friday (Apr 19) night itself.

According to the sources, till Saturday (Apr 20) afternoon, the team has culled 11,289 fowls at the three-storey farm building. They will start culling the remaining fowls in the two other floors of the building from Saturday evening and the farm will be cleaned by Sunday (Apr 21).

Though a bird flu team had reached the poultry farm earlier upon receiving information from locals regarding a possible bird flu outbreak, the owner had refused to cooperate until April 15, when specimens of the dead fowls were sent to the Central Livestock Laboratory for test.

According to NBDRL Chief Bodhnath Adhikari, besides Rana's farm the disease has also been detected at Rajendra Hamal's farm in Mangalpur. Over 3,200 fowls have reportedly been culled and 260-kilogramme chicken feed and 240 eggs were destroyed at Hamal's farm on Friday night itself. Meanwhile, small poultry farm operators have accused big farm owners of being reluctant to report any outbreak to authorities fearing great loss.

While office senior veterinary of the district livestock office Tej Bahadur Rijal is leading the rapid response team, Dayaram Chapagain of NBDRL is in charge of the surveillance team.

Regarding the recent outbreak, Chief District Officer Himnath Dawadi urged commoners to take precautions to stay safe. Chitwan, the biggest hub for production of chicken, boasts of 60% of the total chicken produce in the country. It is said there are over two million fowls kept in the various poultry farms of the district.