Poultry sector in Nepal limping to normal

The poultry business in Nepal is gradually recovering and coming back to normal, which once went down due to a bird flu scare after the news flash that bird flu had come to India, an official in the veterinary department under the Ministry of Health and Population said in Kathmandu Monday.

"The poultry business had gone down by 50 percent when the news of bird flu in India came. But now, the business is recovering," said Dharma Raj Niraula, program director of the veterinary department.

Turnover in the poultry business was 39.5 million Nepali rupees (564,285 U.S. dollars) monthly in Nepal and the annual turnover was about 17 billion Nepali rupees (242.85 million U.S. dollars), according to Niraula.

If business does not pick up, it will have a severe effect on the nation's economy, Niraula said.

Mahendra Bahadur Bista in the Disease Control Division of the Ministry of Health and Population said there was no fear of bird flu in Nepal as daily laboratory tests have shown that bird flu hasn't pervaded Nepal.

Bista also urged everyone to consume chicken. "We ask one and all to consume chicken as bird flu doesn't exist in Nepal," he said.

According to Bista, the government possesses medicine against bird flu for just a 100 people as a proactive measure, if it surfaces in Nepal.

"We can't keep more stock of such medicines as it is very expensive," Bista added.

He also said that the government has formed a radio reporting team to inform of anything regarding bird flu in Nepal and the government has also made an action plan to fight this endemic disease.

The Terai plain and hill areas in Nepal were highly risky of bird flu, Bista said.

Source: Xinhua