Nepal culls about 700,000 birds as avian flu spreads across 10 districts
Nepal’s livestock authorities say around 700,000 poultry birds, 300,000 kilograms of feed and 1.1 million eggs have been destroyed after H5N1 outbreaks in 10 districts.
Nepal has intensified containment measures against avian influenza after confirmed outbreaks of the H5N1 virus spread across 10 districts. According to the Department of Livestock Services, around 700,000 poultry birds have been culled so far. The update published on June 15 shows that the outbreak is no longer limited to a single pocket and is affecting both the Kathmandu Valley and major poultry-producing areas elsewhere in the country.
The virus has been detected in Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur as well as Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari, Mahottari, Bara, Chitwan and Nawalparasi. That geographic spread makes the episode a broad animal health challenge rather than a localized farm incident. For the poultry sector, it means movement controls, market disruptions and much tighter pressure on biosecurity at farm, transport and trading stages.
Director General Dr. Umesh Dahal said about 300,000 kilograms of poultry feed have also been destroyed as part of the containment effort. A rapid response team has been deployed to prevent further spread. He added that Nepal currently has no vaccine available for bird flu, leaving culling of infected and at-risk birds as the main control method.
The economic hit extends beyond live birds. Authorities said around 1.1 million eggs have been destroyed since the outbreak began a few weeks ago. For farmers, that means the loss of productive stock and the sudden collapse of short-term cash flow from egg and meat sales. The department said compensation will be provided to affected farmers under existing rules in coordination with provincial governments.
Even though the Khabarhub report is brief, the figures point to a serious industry problem. The absence of a vaccine increases reliance on aggressive sanitary action, while the number of districts involved makes the outbreak harder to isolate quickly. In practical terms, poultry businesses face higher costs for sanitation, surveillance and movement control, with continued uncertainty over how many more flocks could be affected.
What happens next will depend on the speed of detection in any new hotspots and on coordination between central and provincial authorities. But the scale already reported, 700,000 birds, 300,000 kilograms of feed and 1.1 million eggs, shows that the outbreak has moved beyond a routine veterinary case and into a significant production and food-market disruption for Nepal’s poultry sector.