RANIKHET CUASED CHICKEN DEATHS IN DHADING

RANIKHET CAUSED DHADING CHICKEN DEATHS
Kathmandu, 19 Feb.: The government authorities have confirmed that a highly infectious and fatal viral disease of poultry named 'ranikhet' is the cause behind the recent deaths of thousands of chickens in Dhading district, The Kathmandu Post reports.
According to Dr Nara Bahadur Rajawar, the director general at the Department of Livestock Services, the lab tests of the dead fowls show symptoms of ranikhet disease.
Local poultry farmers at Naubise VDC in Dhading claimed that over 20,000 chickens died in various poultry farms in the area for the past two weeks. District Veterinary Office (DVO) Dhading, however, confirmed 10,000 deaths so far.
The DVO sent samples from two poultry farms to the Central Veterinary Laboratory in Kathmandu for tests on Thursday.
Some 3,500 out of 5,600 chickens in Ram-Laxman Poultry Farm died, while Salikram Adhikari's farm in Dharke saw deaths of around 3,000 chickens in the past two weeks. According to Dr Shivaji Prasad Das, chief at the DVO, the number of deaths in local farms lately raised fear of avian influenza.
DVO data shows that there are 50 poultry farms in the district. The farmers claimed that recent deaths of over 20,000 chickens have resulted in loss of some Rs 5 million to local farmers.
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