Veterinary technicians deployed from the Department of Livestock Services have culled over 67,000 chickens in Hetauda of Makwanpur, Tarakeshwor and Tokha of Kathmandu, and Madi of Kaski districts.

Officials at the department said that the fowls were culled after the Central Veterinary Laboratory confirmed the presence of the H5N1 virus in the samples collected from those farms.

Bimal Kumar Nirmal, Director General at the department, said that the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development had taken the decision after receiving the confirmation. Vet technicians completed the culling operations at 3:30 am today in Hetauda, according to him. Over 42,000 chickens were slaughtered.

Likewise, vet technicians completed operations at 9:30 pm on Sunday in Tarakeshwar and Tokha municipalities of Kathmandu. Over 25,000 chickens of 20 poultry farms were killed there. Nirmal informed that the contagious virus was confirmed in samples of 13 poultry farms, but officials decided to destroy fowls of seven additional farms located in the vicinity.

The H5N1 influenza virus has also been detected at Yangjakot of Madi Rural Municipality in Kaski district. The authorities concerned on Monday imposed a ban on the consumption and sale of fowls and its products in the area. Livestock Disease Research Laboratory in Pokhara said the avian flu was detected in chickens belonging to a Santu Pariyar in Yangjakot.

The laboratory test confirmed the virus on March 12, and a meeting of stakeholders was held under the chairmanship of Chief District Officer Chakra Bahadur Budha Budha on Monday. The meeting concluded that affected areas would be kept under surveillance and security measures would be taken to control the disease. As per the decision, a technical team reached the affected area and culled 77 chickens and destroyed 85 eggs and 35 kg of feed belonging to Santu and four other neighbours.

Livestock Service Training Centre in Kaski collected 17 samples of chickens from Yangjakot. Among them, one was confirmed with the H5N1 virus.

Meanwhile, the Department of Livestock Services said that surveillance has been increased and surveillance staffers have been asked to bring samples of dead chickens for laboratory check ups to ascertain the cause of the chicken’s death. Poultry farmers from various parts of the country have been contracting vet officials to report the death of their chickens, according to Nirmal.  

He said that his department would recommend the government to provide compensation to the farmers.

The department has requested consumers not to be panic and to wash hands properly with soap and water after touching chickens, chicken feed and chicken manure and ensure that the meat is cooked properly before consumption.