The department's Director General Umesh Dahal said that the situation is currently under control and that samples are being collected from areas where bird flu has been detected for testing.
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The bird flu infection seen in birds has started to come under control. After bird flu infections were detected in various places including the federal capital Kathmandu, poultry farmers across the country had faced problems.
According to the Department of Livestock Services, no bird flu infection has been detected since the 1st of Saun. The most recent infection was found in Gokarneshwar–1, Sundarijal, Kathmandu. According to the department’s Director General Umesh Dahal, there have been no recent cases of infection. Samples are being collected from areas surrounding the infected sites for testing. “It is currently under control. We are collecting samples from areas around where bird flu was detected and conducting tests,” he said.
According to the department’s data, the disease was confirmed by PCR testing at the Central Animal Disease Investigation Laboratory on the 4th of Chaitra. Subsequently, on the 6th of Chaitra, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development declared the affected area as a bird flu zone.
Bird flu was detected for the first time in Urlabari–8 and Sundar Haraicha–4 of Morang. According to Dahal, commercial layers were the most affected. Similarly, the disease was found in parent stock, commercial broilers, local chickens, ducks, turkeys, and pheasants. So far, infections have been detected in 11 districts.
He said that the disease has been fully controlled in seven districts outside the Kathmandu Valley. The disease has been confirmed in only 119 locations in the Kathmandu Valley and Kavre. In the Kathmandu Valley alone, infections were detected in 92 locations: 32 in Kathmandu, 15 including the Central Zoo in Lalitpur, and 45 in Bhaktapur. According to the department, infections were found in 27 locations in Kavrepalanchok alone.
According to the department’s senior veterinary doctor Dr. Mukul Upadhyaya, a total of 835,563 birds have been culled across Nepal. 1,165,663 eggs and 245,035 kilograms of feed have been destroyed. In the Kathmandu Valley and Kavre alone, 367,835 birds were culled. According to Director General Dahal, the government has immediately provided relief to the affected farmers. Out of a reallocated budget of Rs 500 million and a total managed fund of Rs 520 million, so far Rs 507,115,704 has been disbursed to the accounts of 104 farmers and farms as relief payments.
Animal disease investigation laboratories across the country have rapidly advanced testing. Bird flu has been brought under control due to the government’s promptness and the cooperation of farmers. Senior veterinary doctor Upadhyaya says that the likelihood of further infections is now low.
With the decline in infections, the consumption of chicken eggs and meat has started to increase. As a result, farmers have started to receive better prices. Farmers had been affected when prices dropped due to the infection. When chicks could not be sold, they had to be destroyed.
