Govt bans chicken supply, sales in Valley

KATHMANDU, AUG 01 - The government on Thursday banned the supply and sales of poultry product after cases of bird flu were found at several poultry farms in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur, government officials announced the decision at a press conference in the capital .

Officials at Kathmandu District Animal Health Office said the government had imposed a week-long ban on the supply and sale of poultry product s to prevent the H5N1 virus from spreading to humans.

The Department of Livestock Services (DoLS) recommended the chiefs of three district offices in Kathmandu Valley to activate clause 15 of the Animal Health and Livestock Services Act-1999.

As per the clause, the office in charge or the Quarantine Officer may restrict the movement and transport of animals from the place in Nepal where there is an outbreak of contagious diseases to other places of the country.

The move follows confirmation of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in many poultry farms in Bhaktapur district.

"We have taken this decision to save both human lives as well as the industry," AFP quoted Bolraj Acharya, the head of the office, as saying.

He said authorities could extend the ban unless the virus was under control within a week, adding that security forces had been deployed in markets to enforce the restrictions.

"We have also sent surveillance teams in the poultry farms. They will report to us if there's any violation of the ban," Acharya said.

Since the latest outbreak of bird flu two weeks ago, health workers have culled 220,000 chickens and destroyed more than 400,000 eggs at 30 affected farms, said Bijay Kant Jha, the head of the government-run Directorate of Animal Health.

"This is the biggest outbreak in Nepal so far," he said.

Nepal's first outbreak of bird flu in poultry was in January 2009.

H5N1, a common strain of bird flu , killed 377 people globally from 2003 until July 5 this year, according to the World Health Organisation.