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1,000 fowl culled |
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KEPALA BATAS: More than 1,000 domestic fowls in three villages here were culled last night, following the detection of the H5N1 virus in six dead kampung chickens in Kampung Permatang Bogak. The other two villages, which are within a 1km radius of Kampung Permatang Bogak, are Kampung Permatang Sintok and Kampung Permatang Tok Loba. The six chickens were among the 20 reared by Jaafar Yahaya for his family's consumption. There are 186 households with more than 500 inhabitants in the three villages. On Monday, a team of 120 officers from the Veterinary Services Department of the Seberang Perai Municipal Council and police culled 472 birds 417 chickens, two ducks, |
five geese, 28 doves and 20 other birds found within a 1km radius of Kampung Permatang Bogak. The villagers also handed over 183 eggs to be destroyed. Deputy Agriculture and AgroIndustry Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shariff Omar, who visited the villages, said: "We expect to cull more birds than we did on Monday night as we need to ensure that the spread of the virus is contained. "From our calculations, more than 1,000 poultry animals from these three villages would have been culled by today (yesterday)." He said a 10km radius of Kampung Permatang Bogak, including the entire Kepala Batas area, Bumbong Lima, Tasek Gelugor, Pongsu Seribu, Teluk Air Tawar, Penaga, Bagan Ajam and Sungai Dua, will be under surveillance. |
"No movement of poultry will be allowed from the areas mentioned and export of poultry from Penang is also frozen with immediate effect," Mohd Shariff said. The health authorities have despatched officers to the three villages to conduct door to door visits and check for bird flu symptoms. Mohd Shariff gave his assurance that the situation in Penang was under control, with the Veterinary Services Department carrying out surveillance on poultry farms in the state.
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