Kathmandu, June 30 -- As many as three separate teams of veterinary technicians were deployed to Panauti Municipality of Kavrepalanchowk district on Tuesday to cull chickens at bird flu-hit poultry farms.

The deadly disease has been also confirmed at a poultry farm of Suryabinayak Municipality in Bhaktapur and in Tarakeshwar Municipality.

However, due to a shortage of manpower, authorities have been unable to promptly dispatch rapid response teams to cull infected chickens and disinfect affected farms.

"We have been facing acute shortage of manpower to cull the remaining chickens at bird flu-hit poultry farms," said Dr Mukul Upadhyaya, a senior veterinary officer who is also a lead focal person for avian influenza control programmes an...