IPOH, PERAK: More than 2,000 random samples of saliva
swabs obtained from various species of migratory birds
at the Kuala Gula Bird Sanctuary have tested negative
for the H5N1 bird flu virus.
The samples were collected since last August, with the
latest taken three days before the virus was detected
last Thursday in Bukit Merah and Gopeng.
State veterinary officer Dr Wan Mohd Kamil Wan Nik said
yesterday many more samples were collected in the
current migration cycle than in the past.
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"Before, we collected about 800 random samples during the
nine-month period from August to April.
"But since last August, we have doubled the number," he said,
adding outbreaks in several countries around the globe
necessitated the collection of more samples.
He said physical surveillance at the sanctuary to locate dead
migratory birds had also been heightened but none had been found
so far.
Migratory birds are believed to have caused the outbreak among
exotic birds at the Bukit Merah Laketown Resort Ecopark and
kampung chickens in Kampung Changkat Tualang in Kota Baru near
Gopeng, Perak
Dr Wan Kamil said the State Department of Veterinary
Services would investigate how the virus spread to the two areas
which were 150km apart.
"As we view seriously the detection of the virus in the two
areas, surveillance in other areas visited by
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migratory birds such as the Kinta Nature Park in Batu Gajah will
be intensified," he said.
The Kuala Gula Bird Sanctuary was gazetted in 1970 for the
purpose of protecting about 50 migratory and resident bird
species which have been using the wetlands for generations.
Migratory birds such as Eurasian curlews, redshanks, golden
plovers, terns, egrets and gulls flock to the wide mudflats for
feeding and resting during their migration from the northern to
the southern hemisphere and vice-versa.
Birds are also attracted to the Kinta Nature Park, also known as
Taman Alam. It attracts 129 bird species, including 70 protected
under the Wildlife Act 1972. However, the park has yet to be
gazetted as a wildlife sanctuary. |
