# 2670
Despite having declared bird flu alerts in the past, and having watched for well over a year as India and Bangladesh struggled with their own outbreaks in poultry, Nepal is discovering how challenging dealing with the avian flu virus can be.
We've two articles this morning from Xinhua News. The first relays a request from the Nepali Minister of Agriculture for foreign assistance in dealing with the crisis.
Nepal calls for foreign assistance in bird flu control
www.chinaview.cn
2009-01-18 19:18:17
KATHMANDU, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Nepali Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives Jayaprakash Prasad Gupta on Sunday has called on foreign donor organizations to assist the country in eliminating the recent bird flu outbreak.
Speaking at a program organized in Parsa district, some 90 km south of Nepali capital Kathmandu, Minister Gupta said, "although Nepal has manpower, it lacks the resources," local news website eKantipur reported.
Nepali government on Friday announced bird flu outbreak in Nepal for the first time. It was first found in Mechinagar Municipality of Jhapa district, some 320 km southeast of Nepali capital Kathmandu.
This second article gives us a bit more detail, including problems that cullers are facing when it comes to compensating the owners of affected flocks.
As we've seen in the past, adequate compensation is key to these culling operations. Many poultry owners simply don't believe that their birds pose a threat, and these birds often represent a major portion of their income.
If faced with the choice of surrendering their birds to the government for less than market price, or trying to trade - sell - or export them for more money, many will simply hide their birds from the culling teams.
Surveillance tightened in east Nepal after bird flu scare
www.chinaview.cn
KATHMANDU, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- The local authorities of bordering districts in eastern Nepal have more tightened surveillance after bird flu was detected in chicken in Mechinagar Municipality of Jhapa district, some 320 km southeast of Nepali capital Kathmandu.
Specialist teams have started culling chicken and other birds and destroying poultry production in Mechinagar, which has been declared bird flu risk zone by government on Friday.
An expert team led by Dr. Ram Krishna Khatiwada, head of Bird Flu Control Project, had already reached the affected area from Kathmandu and has begun his work, local news website Nepalnews reported on Sunday.
Three kilometers periphery of the customs office in Mechinagar has been declared bird flu risk zone.
The local administration of Jhapa has reported as saying more than 13,000 birds will be culled and safely disposed in Mechinagarand surrounding areas. Apart from culling birds and destroying poultry products, tools used in poultry firms will be sterilized, reports quoting local authorities said.
Around 350 poultry firms in the area are now under bird flu surveillance while the import of birds from bordering India has been tightly controlled, reports quoting local officials said.
Meanwhile, Nepali national news agency RSS on Sunday reported, team of specialists deployed to control bird flu in Jhapa district are facing difficulties after the Poultry Entrepreneurs Union, Jhapa declined to assist the team.
According to the report, Union has decided to deny assistance to the team reasoning that the compensation fixed by the Agriculture Ministry was very low for destroying the birds and poultry products.
The report quoted Khatiwada, head of the expert team as saying that "the team was unable to provide compensation to any poultry entrepreneur against the rule and regulation fixed by the government."
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