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Livestock Development Officer Dr Shivaji Prasad Das of District Livestock Service Office said chickens had been dying but since the farmers kept mum more chickens could not be prevented from dying. It was only yesterday that a team including Dr Das went to the incident site. It sent dead chickens for tests to Kathmandu's Central Livestock Disease Control Laboratory today. According to Dr Das, test report will be out in three days.
In the poultry farm owned by Ram Koirala of Dharke 3,500 died within two weeks. In Salikgram's farm 3,000 fowls have died. Thousands of chickens have died in other farms as well. Farmers estimate that they have lost more than Rs 50 lakhs.
Ram Koirala, Proprietor of Dharke-based Ram Laxman Poultry Farm, said, "We had taken the chickens to Kathmandu's Gauri Shankar Vet Farm as soon as we found out they were suffering from some disease. The vets there said chickens suffered from Ranikhet disease." Farmers are worried that chickens are dying even after treatment of Ranikhet disease.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet decided today to declare three districts of eastern region - Ilam, Sunsari and Jhapa - as bird flu affected areas and directed the government agencies to adopt effective measures to control the disease.
Defined as: A disease of domestic fowl and other birds caused by a paramyxovirus of the genus Rubulavirus. The disease affects the respiratory and nervous systems of birds leading to respiratory difficulty, incoordination, tremors, and twitching of the head.
Sounds like it could be radiation...what about those girls with the head twitches??
Radiation???