As reports of the increasing menace of bird flu continue to make rounds, all efforts at the moment are concentrated on controlling bird flu at poultry farms. Little attention has been paid to other aspects of this potential epidemic. Egg and chicken dishes are still freely available in the restaurants of Kathmandu, and one has to conclude that at least some of them are made from sick or potentially infected birds. To discourage buying and selling of infected birds, the government had banned trading in chickens in Kathmandu, but evidently, traders have found a loophole. Infected birds are being traded in the outskirts of the city where there is no ban. Birds with suspicious symptoms are transported overnight to suburban areas where they can be traded, away from government’s watch. And this is happening despite the Department of Animal Health’s claim that it keeps a close watch on infection in poultry farms. [break]
Culling more than 33,000 chickens since the outbreak of the flu last July has increased the chances of the disease spreading in other ways. The flu spreads not just from live birds, but also from dead ones, contact with their severed body parts, blood, and even their feed. At the moment, the culled birds are dumped haphazardly, most noticeably at Bhaktapur of late. Not only is the smell from the site extremely discomforting for locals, but the unmanaged site also threatens to spread bird flu through the soil, air and water. No wonder, birds in almost all poultry farms in Bhaktapur are infected with H5N1, H5N7, or H1N9, different strains of bird flu. Even though government officials claim no human has been infected, there is no way to be sure of that without carrying out definitive tests.
Also, farmers whose chickens are dying from H1N9, a lesser known strain of bird flu, have complained of government negligence. Culling only chickens with H5N1, the government has left chickens infected with H1N9 alone. This could prove to be a fatal mistake since it is an equally dangerous strain of bird flu. Meanwhile, the government’s emergency team faces resistance from farmers who would rather sell their chicken at half the price than allow them to be destroyed. Culling chickens means a huge loss to them as the government barely pays them a fraction of the chicken’s market value. The paltry compensation for culled chicken does seem to imply that the government is not taking the issue seriously. Both the parties should realize here that unless this threat is contained, there might be huge price to pay for everyone. They too would be endangered if bird flu spread to humans. Once it spreads, bird flu is hard to track and remove. The government needs to tighten its watch over infected birds, and expand the ban to municipalities bordering the capital. Perhaps a complete ban on the import of chickens would be helpful until the threat is neutralized. Farmers may lose their business and consumers their favorite dish for some time, but considering the grave consequences of inaction, it is a price well worth paying.
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