CHITWAN: High alert has been maintained in Chitwan district following the manifestation of bird flu in the neighbouring Makawanpur district.

Import of poultry and its products into the district, a pocket area for poultry, has been tightened, while poultry owners have been asked to maintain a biosecurity plan.

"Transportation of poultry and its products is frequent through the district. So a tight measure has been kept for quarantine," said Dr Parshuram Phuyal, officiating chief of Veterinary Hospital. Sample of 150 fowls have been sent to Kathmandu for test, he said.

A meeting of the bird flu control technical committee that was called following the detection of bird flu in Makawanpur assessed the risk of the avian influenza coming to the district. It has also asked the people and poultry farmers to maintain biosecurity, said Phuyal.

Fowl samples are collected two days each week and sent to the Central Veterinary Laboratory, Tripureshwor, said Dr Dayaram Chapagain, chief of the National Avian Disease Investigation Laboratory, Bharatpur. So far only low pathogenic H9 has been detected in the samples, he said.

The Nepal Egg Producers Association has also asked the people and poultry farmers to stay on alert. According to Nepal Poultry Entrepreneurs' Forum, over 5 million eggs are produced across the country on a daily basis, and 850,000 kilograms of chicken.

Poultry farming has provided job opportunities to around 180,000 people across the country, and it contributes four percent to the gross domestic product, said poultry entrepreneur Madan Pokharel.

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