Kathmandu, March 5:

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

“The poulty business had gone down by 50 per cent when the news of bird flu in India came. But, now the business is recovering,” said Dharma Raj Niraula, programme director of the veterinary department.

Turnover in the poultry business was Rs 39,500,000 monthly in Nepal and the annual turnover was about Rs 17-18 billion. If business does not pick up, it will have a severe effect on the nation’s economy, Niraula said. He said business was lower by 30 percent than normal.

Dr 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 him, 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,” he added.

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

Dr Nep Prakash Singh Karki said a total of 174 people were afflicted with the bird flu virus in

the world since 2003 and 94 died of to it.

At an interaction on bird flu in Nepal, officials said the Terai and hill areas were highly risky.