KATHMANDU, Feb. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- Nepal has confirmed that the death of more than 600 chicken at a farm of central Nepal was not due to bird flu, a government official said here Tuesday.

    "Central Animal Health Directorate (CAHD) has confirmed that the death of more than 1,000 chickens of Battar Poultry Farm was not due to the bird flu virus situated at Battar town of Bidur city in Nuwakot district, neighboring Kathmandu district," Dhanaraj Ratala, program director of CAHD, told reporters.

    No symptoms of bird flu have been found in the dead chicken during a test carried out by the CAHD at Central Veterinary Disease Control Laboratory, Ratala noted, adding, "They could have died due to Newcastle virus."

    Meanwhile, a team led by senior veterinarian Dev Raj Adhikari of CAHD visited the farm on Monday and inspected the poultry farms in the area.

    The team also carried out tests on the dead chickens and brought chicken of the farm to Kathmandu for further examination and tests, Ratala said.

    About 600 out of 1,000 chickens at the farm died in a period of three days, which prompted the authorities to conduct investigation on the matter.

    More than 60,000 chickens are currently being raised in the district, according to the District Livestock Office. Enditem