 |
||
|
Not all chickens drop dead due to bird flu
|
||
|
Dovsai Sabah Deputy Director (Veterinary Health and District Development) Dr Nasip Eli, who is leading the avian flu surveillance in Sabah, said the latest cases were reported here and in Sipitang, Saturday. Two of the five Rapid Action Teams (RATs) formed by the department were despatched to both locations immediately upon receiving reports via telephone from the public. In Kota Kinabalu, a two-member RAT led by Dr Zulbahar Haji Abdul Rashid arrived at Kg Bukit Permai, in Menggatal, at about 4pm, upon being informed about the mysterious deaths of five out of nine free-range chicken belonging to a family about half-an-hour earlier. The head of the family of six, Rimin Sandah, 41, a self-employed, claimed his wife saw five of their chickens die mysteriously underneath their house at about 5.30pm the day earlier. It shocked them because all five, including a cockerel and four hens, were still alive during feeding time at about noon. However, there were no signs that these chicken were sick or anything that might have resulted in their deaths. He suspected the chickens died in between 3pm and 4pm. |
It was the first time they encountered such an incident in the village after having lived there for five years, he added. Rimin, who buried the five chickens immediately at a spot beside the chicken coop not far at the back of their house, said he contacted Dovsai in the afternoon of the following day to have it checked out. "We just want to make sure, after having seen about the danger of the avian influenza H5N1 virus on television," he said. Dr Zulbahar's team took and tested blood and swabs of the living and dead chicken. Rimin and his assistant began first with the free-range chicken still alive before proceeding to take blood and swap test samples of the five buried chickens. Using the AI rapid test kit, they can determine the preliminary test results on the spot within 30 minutes much like a pregnancy test kit. The test kit has two indicators, each marked with C (control) and T (test). It means negative if there is line indicated above C, while positive if there were lines on both C and T. A Global Positioning System (GPS) reading of the location was also taken. Zulbahar said although the result was negative, they together with a team of Health Department officials will conduct a survey of the neighbouring houses to check if there are similar incidences. All the collected samples and dead birds were brought back for final testing and confirmation at the Dovsai Sabah's epidemology unit laboratory in Kepayan here. The final result will be available in within three days. |
Commending the family concerned for informing the department immediately about the death, Nasip said this means a lot to the efforts to prevent outbreak of the virus in the State. Nasip said the five RATs comprise experienced veterinarians and well-equipped with the necessary protective gear and testing kits, available to be despatched anytime 24 hours daily. Meanwhile, another RAT sent to check on the second case in Sipitang, which the information was received through the department's headquarters in Putrajaya, as at 7pm still fail to locate the exact location where the incidences reportedly occurred. Even the number of a telephone used to provide the information was found to be not in service, said Nasip, who nevertheless said the assigned RAT jointly with officials from the department's district office in Sipitang were still continuing to search for it. He also advised the public not to be worried because Sabah is still safe from any such threat. Sudden deaths among bird species in Sabah were previously found out as probably caused by either Newcastle Disease, Chronic Respiratory Disease (CRD), Colipacilosis, internal parasite or blood parasite. These were considered as common to infected bird species, particularly chicken, he said. Besides responding to such a reported case and holding an wareness drive, RAT is also involved in carrying out an active surveillance with cooperation from the Wildlife Department, which lately concentrated on the migratory bird species especially the egrets due to the approaching migration season from south to north. |
|
|
||
