Nepal is battling a widening bird flu outbreak that has led to the culling of more than half a million birds. Government quarantine facilities have been put on alert to ensure food safety standards for consumers, officials said.

The first case this year was detected in March and has since spread to 11 of the country’s 77 districts, including the capital, Kathmandu. No human infections have been reported, officials said.

Authorities have culled 658,313 chickens and destroyed more than one million eggs and 222,000 kg of poultry feed, according to Mukul Upadhyaya, spokesperson for the Department of Livestock Services.

Nepal’s only zoo, in Kathmandu, has been closed to the public since June 19 after infections were detected, as a precautionary measure. Birds, including vultures and ducks, as well as some leopard cats, have died, zoo spokesperson Ganesh Koirala said.

Livestock experts are monitoring the outbreak and overseeing culling operations, officials said. Nepal does not import poultry meat, but authorities have stepped up vigilance along its open border with India to prevent illegal imports.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.