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PUTRAJAYA, Feb 22: All domestic birds within a kilometre of the
village where the bird flu
virus was detected have been culled.
Veterinary Services Department acting director-general Datuk Dr
Mustapa Abdul Jalil said some 800 birds had been culled in four
villages in the area.
These birds, he said, were within a one-kilometre radius of
Kampung Pasir Wardieburn, where the dead chickens infected with
the H5N1
virus were found.
A total of 724 chickens, 58 ducks, 54 other fowl and 455 eggs
were destroyed in a culling operation which began on Monday
night and ended yesterday.
Mustapa said no more culling was necessary as the department
believed the
virus was contained |
within the zone. However, for one week starting tomorrow, areas
up to 10km away will come under
surveillance.
The areas include Zoo Negara and Setapak, south to Pudu, east to
Hulu Klang and west to Kepong.
Surveillance will involve a ban on poultry movement and
random sampling of birds to test for the H5N1
virus. Teams from the department, veterinary students from
Universiti Putra Malaysia and officials from other government
agencies will be involved in the operation.
Mustapa said to date, 139 swab samples had been taken from the
Gombak area and all had tested negative for the
virus.
Random testing
nationwide is also being conducted, although the
virus has not been detected anywhere else. |
Mustapa, who was in Dubai accompanying Agriculture and Agro-
Industry Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, and was told to
return immediately to address the situation, said: "The
infection was localised in four villages off Jalan Genting Klang.
All possible steps have been taken to control its spread. We are
not doing vaccination because it is an isolated case."The best
method is still culling, although in the end it may be more
costly than vaccination. But countries which do culling have
reported higher success rates."
Asked about compensation to owners of culled birds, Mustapa said
the
money would be paid out in a few weeks. He urged those
rearing poultry to inform the department immediately if their
birds die. Its bird flu operations
room number is
03-88702041/2042.
The operations
room will be open from
8am to 9pm. |
