KUALA LUMPUR, March 20
Four people who were tested
for suspected bird flu after developing fever in Perak
have been found to be free of the disease, an official
said yesterday, AFP reports.
"All four are found to be negative. They have not
contracted the H5N1 disease," Health Ministry Disease
Control Department director Dr Ramlee Rahmat said.
One of those tested was a 43-year-old chicken breeder
who lives a kilometre from an outbreak among birds in
Changkat Tualang village, and another was his
seven-year-old neighbor.
The other two live about 10km from the Laketown Resort
nature reserve where the disease has also been
discovered in birds.
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Bernama reports that all poultry and other birds within one
kilometre radius of Kampung Changkat Tualang in Kota Baru near
Gopeng have been culled following the discovery of a case of
H5N1 bird flu there last week.
A second case of H5N1 virus was detected in the Ecopark located
on an island in the Bukit Merah Laketown Resort at about the
same time, and all the birds in the park were also culled.
The culling carried out by more than 60 personnel of the
Veterinary Services Department and Health Ministry in Kampung
Changkat Tualang was extended to nearby Kampung Redang Sawa,
said State executive councilor for agriculture, agro-based
industry and tourism Datuk Mohammed Radzi Manan yesterday. |
"The department and Ministry will continue to conduct monitoring
and active supervision of the two villages and nearby areas
until the infection is over," he said.
Some 40,551 chickens, ducks, geese, quails and other birds were
culled from March 16 until last night, including all the birds
from a poultry farm. The personnel also destroyed 918 chicken
eggs found in the area.
Mohammed Radzi said the taking of samples from different parts
of Perak for laboratory tests would be continued to ensure the
state was free of the bid flu virus. He said the Veterinary
Department took 106 samples from 27 poultry farms in the Gopeng
and Semanggol zones during the three days after the outbreak was
detected.
The department also took 58 samples from 35 farms in the Kinta,
Central Perak and Kuala Kangsar zones. No new case of bird flu
had been found. |
