Kuala Lumpur, Sat. --- Malaysia is currently free from bird flu but the country remains on full alert with all necessary precautions in place for any eventuality.

Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said stringent checks on poultry farms nationwide were in progress and strict surveillance was being carried out at the borders with Thailand and Indonesia to prevent the smuggling of chickens and other birds.

Speaking after presenting Hari Raya gifts to orphans at the Umno Pagoh division, he said the emergence of bird flu in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and other countries had prompted Malaysia to be on full alert.

Muhyiddin said migratory birds had come under closer scrutiny for bird flu, adding that Veterinary and Wildlife, and National Parks department staff had been directed to collect saliva swabs and droppings of these birds for analysis.

Health director-general Datuk Dr Ismail Merican said although some international health experts claimed Asia was ill-equipped to handle and influenza pandemic, Malaysian authorities were doing all they could. “We are on the alert. There is no need to worry”, he said.

His counterpart in the Veterinary Services Department Datuk Dr Hawari Hussein said the Government was serious in its efforts to combat    avian    flu     and    his

officers were working closely with the Customs, Immigration, police and border security personnel to ensure that infected birds did not end up here.

Why is N5N1 of Particular Concern?

Ø       It mutates rapidly and seems to acquire genes from viruses infecting other animal species.

Ø       It can cause severe disease in humans.

Ø       Birds that survive infection excrete virus for at least 10 days, orally and in faeces, helping spread the virus at live poultry markets and by migratory birds.

Ø       The more birds that come down with bird flu, the greater the opportunity for direct infection of humans.

Ø       The more humans get infected, the greater the likelihood people can become infected with both human and bird flu strains.

Ø       Humans could then serve as a “mixing vessel” for a new type of virus that could easily be transmitted from person to person. Such an event would mark the start of an influenza pandemic.