Bird-flu outbreak confirmed in Nepal

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A bird-flu outbreak has been confirmed in Dharke of Dhading district in central Nepal, officials said Friday.

Bird-flu has been detected in poultry farms of a farmer Laxmi Pokhrel, the Central Livestock Disease Investigation Laboratory, Kathmandu declared Friday.

Chicken in Pokhrel's farms were dying since Dec. 13 and samples were sent to the laboratory for further tests.

Following the confirmation, a meeting was held under the convenorship of Chief District Officer Bed Prasad Kharel who heads the Bird-flu Technical Committee at the District Livestock Office, Dhading.

The meeting declared the poultry farm area a bird-flu hit area through demarcation and decided to cull all the remaining fowls there.

Some 3,000 fowls have already died in the area and have been safely dumped into pits, said Debendra Bhagat, a Livestock Officer.

The District Livestock Office has urged all citizens to cooperate in controlling the outbreak.