Health News
Nepal confirms outbreak of bird flu
Feb 5, 2012, 15:48 GMT
Kathmandu - Authorities in Nepal were preparing Sunday to cull hundreds of poultry after the government confirmed the outbreak of bird flu in the eastern region of the country.
A laboratory test on a sample from a dead chicken had confirmed avian influenza in the districts of Sunsari and Ilam, the director of the National Animal Health Directorate, Ram Krishna Khatiwada, said.
Authorities sent samples to Britain for testing after domestic ducks and chicken started dying last month. In Ilam, 2,000 ill birds have died and 5,000 have died in Sunsari.
The agency sent staff to the region with instructions to start Monday killing hundreds of birds suspected of carrying the flu virus. The government says no humans have been infected so far. Avian flu can jump to people and is sometimes fatal.
Nepal's first bird-flu outbreak was reported in 2009 and led to a mass cull.
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