Now, fears grow of ‘sick’ chickens being sold in country’s markets


KATHMANDU, JUL 30 -

Police and veterinary officials of Lalitpur confiscated 426 ‘ bird flu -infected’ chickens from Sundarighat in Balkhu on Monday morning, while a sack full of such chickens was strewn around at Shantinagar gate in Kathmandu. Also on Monday, fresh bird flu outbreak was reported in a farm owned by one Punya Bharati in Kirtipur-17.

At Balkhu, the driver of the vehicle laden with the chickens said the fowls, infected with the H5N1 strain of the flu, were being taken to Birgunj for sale by Balaram KC, the owner of the Bhaktapur-based DJ Poultry Farm. The police and veterinary officials acted on a tip-off from local people of Nangkhel-2, Bhaktapur.

At Shantinagar, foul smell emanating from the dumped chickens gave residents and passers-by a tough time.

While the Balkhu incident gave rise to fears that infected chickens are being sold in the markets, experts and doctors say haphazard disposal of the chickens poses a serious threat to public health. According to Dr Bijay Kanta Jha, executive director at the Animal Health Directorate, the infected chickens, if distributed in the markets, could lead to the virus spreading more rapidly to other poultry farms, ultimately exposing people to higher risks of contracting the bird flu .

Chief of the Lalitpur district veterinary office, Mogal Prasad Shah, said the chickens seized at Balkhu were ‘sick’ and that they were later disposed of safely. He said the chickens displayed bird flu symptoms, adding that they have sent the samples for tests.

He, however, did not want to say if any legal action will be taken against the poultry farm owner.

At Nangkhel-2 on Sunday, locals hit the streets after foul smell started emanating from chickens dumped haphazardly from the DJ farm. Chickens were also carelessly dumped in sacks in areas between Bhotedhikur and Nalinchowk near the Arniko Highway. Police and government officials later dumped the fowls safely. General Secretary of the Nepal Veterinary Association Dr Shital Kaji Shrestha said the dumping of infected chickens in public places and selling them are ‘unethical.’

“We condemn this,” he said. Shrestha attributed this act to two factors—low compensation from the government for the slaughtered chickens, and government officials themselves not complying to the standard practices while culling the chickens in the affected areas.

“The law states that chickens within a radius of one kilometre from the outbreak site can be culled.

“However, government officials often don’t follow this rule and leave other nearby farms untouched during an outbreak,” Shrestha said.

Symptoms of bird flu in humans are similar to the common flu, like cough, fever, headache, malaise, runny nose and sore throat. The World Health Organisation states that the H5N1 virus “remains one of the influenza viruses with pandemic potential, because it continues to circulate widely in some poultry populations and most humans likely have no immunity to it, and it can cause severe disease and death in humans.”

Nepal witnessed its first avian flu outbreak in 2008 in Jhapa. Since then, major outbreaks have been reported in Pokhara, Nawalparasi and Banke. Similar outbreaks were reported in Dhading on December 21 and a farm in Bode, Bhaktapur, on October 15 last year. The first case inside the Kathmandu Valley was reported in November 2011.

Kavre bans fowl import

KAVRE: The District Administration Office, Kavre, has decided to impose a ban on import of poultry products in the district. The district has been listed a high risk zone after bird flu outbreak was reported in Bhaktapur. “We have banned the import of chicken through all the four entry points in the district and it will remain effective until further notice,” CDO Durga Prasad Bhandari said after a meeting of the ‘ bird flu control district committee’ on Monday. (PR)

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