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GOPENG, PERAK: The bird flu virus has been detected in another
three areas in Perak, after random sampling of chickens and a
wild bird in the vicinity came up positive.
The hot spots are:
• Kampung Changkat Legong in Gopeng, only 2.5km away from
Changkat Tualang where the virus was first detected in Perak
last week;
• Titi Gantung Agriculture Training Institute in Bota; and,
• Panorama Lapangan Perdana, a housing area on the outskirts of
Ipoh.
State Agriculture and Agro-Based committee chairman Datuk Radzi
Manan said the cases were confirmed by the Veterinary Research
Institute (VRI) in Ipoh on Monday.
The authorities have ordered the culling of some 3,000 chickens
within a one-kilometre radius of Kampung Changkat Legong and the
training institute in Titi Gantung. |
The exercise began about 4pm yesterday, ending about eight hours
later.
Radzi said swab samples of two chickens belonging to a villager
in Kampung Changkat Legong tested positive for the virus as did
swab samples of six chickens at the institute in Bota. The two
chickens were among 20 reared by the villager.
About 1,500 chickens are reared by some 300 villagers in Kampung
Changkat Legong. The majority of the chickens are for personal
consumption with a handful meant to be sold to middlemen.
On the dead cattle egret found by a resident at Panorama
Lapangan Perdana, Radzi said it appeared to be an isolated case
as there were no residents in the area rearing chickens.
However, he said the authorities were not taking chances with
veterinary officers monitoring Panorama Lapangan Perdana and
nearby areas. |
During a visit to Kampung Changkat Legong yesterday, Radzi met
villagers to explain the need to cull chickens.
He said most villagers reared ayam serama or bantam chickens.
"Some of them even have the chickens living in their houses
instead of chicken coops. And some even allow the chickens to
sleep in beds with their children.
"They are very attached to the fowls and getting rid of them
will not be easy," he said, adding that he had to persuade them
(the villagers) to co-operate with veterinary officers.
Radzi assured villagers that they would be compensated, urging
the village head to draw up a list of villagers affected by the
culling exercise. |
