Saturday, February 28, 2009

Bird flu feared as hundreds of chicken die near Biratnagar

Two days after the government completed its culling and killing operation of poultry and poultry products in Sharanamati VDC of Jhapa to control bird-flu detected in the area a week ago, almost 1,000 chickens in farms in Tankisinuwari of Morang district have died sending a pang of panic among the locals.

Some 400 chickens belonging to Dinesh Sitaula and 600 chickens belonging to Kiran Kafle died on Friday and Saturday, news reports said. The chickens started salivating and had swollen heads before they died, said the owners. The locals are scared of a bird-flu outbreak with flocks of chicken dying.

Initial investigation on the samples have tested negative to bird-flu, according to technicians from the Regional Animal Disease Diagnosis Laboratory (RADDL), Biratnagar.

Veterinary technicians have collected samples of the dead chicken for further investigation. The samples have been brought to Kathmandu for further tests. nepalnews.com Feb 28 09


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