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KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 (Bernama) -- The Veterinary Services
Department (JPH), along with the Veterinary Faculty of
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and various government agencies,
will launch a large-scale operation on Friday to detect any sign
of Avian Influenza over an area of 10-km radius spreading out
from Jalan Genting-Kelang.
JPH acting Director-General Datuk Dr Mustapa Abd Jalil said the
operation was to contain the Avian Influenza H5N1
virus that had killed 40 fowls in the Jalan Genting-Kelang
area last Sunday.
Inspections and monitoring for signs of the disease, which can
also be fatal for humans, were continuing in areas regarded to
be at risk, he said in a statement released here Thursday.
"No signs of the
virus spreading have been detected so far. All poultry meat
and eggs in the market are safe for consumption. Just follow the
recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO) to cook
poultry products up to at least 70 degrees Celsius for a minimum
of 30 minutes," he said.
He said that so far 1,970 chickens, 62 ducks, 72 fowls and 505
eggs had been destroyed in a culling exercise over a radius of
one kilometre from where the problem surfaced.
He also said that
checks conducted on owners of chicken or fowls and pet shops
over a radius of three kilometres from Jalan Genting-Kelang,
which included Selayang, Batu and Hulu Kelang, had been
negative.
Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek had on Wednesday night
said that tests conducted on five of seven people admitted to
the Kuala Lumpur Hospital to ascertain if they have been
infected by the deadly H5N1 bird flu
virus proved negative.
A two-year-old boy, reported to be in good health,
was still in the hospital |
while awaiting the test result and another suspected case, a
17-month-old child, had been admitted to the Kuala Lumpur
Hospital for observation, he had said.
In PENANG, residents were advised to
contact the state JPH if they came across unusual deaths
among chickens or birds.
Penang JPH Director Dr Mohd Zairi Serlan said they could
contact its branches throughout the state or its operations
room at 04-508 4363 or 04-508 4369 during office hours.
"Do not act on your own if chickens or fowls suddenly die. Let
us handle it," he said when contacted here today.
Mohd Zairi added that all entry points and tourists and
foreigners coming into the state were being closely monitored
for signs of bird flu and also to prevent attempts to smuggle in
birds or fowls.
Meanwhile, state Health, Welfare and Caring Society Committee
Chairman P. Subbaiyah said that so far no reports of infection
by the
virus had been received in Penang and that all hospitals
there had been placed on full alert.
In KUALA TERENGGANU, the JPH there is studying whether to ban
the entry of chicken from Selangor.
Terengganu JPH Director Dr Azizol Mohd Sharom said the
department had collected 80 blood samples from chickens and
birds over two days from Feb 6 and were waiting for the results
form the Veterinary Research Institute in Ipoh. He said
operations were in full swing to prevent a possible outbreak in
the state.
In KUCHING, Sarawak has imposed a total ban on imports of bird
products, including chicken, from Peninsular Malaysia from last
Tuesday as part of its preventive measures to avert the spread
of the H5N1 avian influenza
virus to the state. |
Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan said the state
government would review the decision based on the latest
developments on the spread of the
virus in the peninsula, and may restrict the import of bird
products to those coming from areas there were unaffected by the
killer disease.
"We are taking extreme caution and watching developments there,"
he told a news conference Thursday.
Dr Chan, who is also Agriculture Modernization Minister, said
that at the same time the police and army would also strictly
monitor movements along the Sarawak-Kalimantan border to prevent
the smuggling of birds into the state.
In KANGAR, Perlis residents were asked not to shoot migratory
birds for food to avert risk of infection.
State Agriculture and Rural Development Committee Chairman
Khairi Hassan said Perlis viewed the developments seriously and
was taking all necessary precautionary measures to avert an
outbreak in the state.
Speaking to reporters after the presentation of aid by Menteri
Besar Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim to 3,000 padi farmers who were
affected by the recent floods in Perlis at the Dewan 2020 here
today, he said the ban on poultry imports from Thailand imposed
three years ago was still in force.
He added that 10 chicken farms in the state operated by
individuals and government agencies involving 15,000 birds had
been checked so far but no signs of bird flu had been found.--
BERNAMA |
