Kathmandu, July 7 -- At least 71 different poultry farms in the Valley-24 in Kathmandu, 35 in Bhaktapur and 12 in Lalitpur-reported an outbreak of avian influenza virus A (H5N1), also called bird flu, that started around a month ago.

Rapid response teams comprising veterinary technicians culled chickens and ducks of 18 poultry farms in Kavrepalanchok, following confirmation of the deadly virus outbreak.

More than 754,000 chickens and ducks have been culled since March. Poultry farms in 11 districts reported outbreaks of bird flu, according to officials at the Department of Livestock Services. Around 1.1 million eggs and nearly 250,000 kg of poultry feed stored in the disease-hit farms were also destroyed.

"Works on culling chickens, an...