Materia Medica Malaysiana

Whole of Kelantan under quarantine for bird flu

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia yesterday placed the entire state of Kelantan under quarantine to prevent the spread of bird flu, as three more villagers were hospitalised after developing symptoms of the disease.

The move restricting the movement of poultry into or out of the state came after the bird flu virus was found on Tuesday to have jumped outside the original quarantine zone around the first village in the state hit by the disease.

'Yes. We are seeing a trend that it is showing up in areas outside the original quarantine zone, so we have to take steps to ensure that it does not spread,' Agriculture Minister Muhyiddin Yassin told reporters. 'We have set up roadblocks at border checkpoints.'

Veterinary officials said the checkpoints are meant to prevent the transportation of birds into or out of the state.

They are beefing up surveillance throughout Kelantan, especially in infected areas.

In neighbouring Terengganu state, Menteri Besar Idris Jusoh said checkpoints had been set up to stop Kelantan birds from being brought in.

The Health Ministry's disease control director, Mr Ramlee Rahmat, said three people who were hospitalised over the weekend had been cleared of the disease.

But he said three children - a 12-year-old boy, a 14-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl - had been admitted for observation on Tuesday after developing cough and flu-like symptoms.

'All three have a history of contact with the dead animals. We are isolating them as a precaution pending test results,' he said, adding that culling activities were continuing.

Officials said the disease was first brought into Malaysia by fighting cocks exposed to the virus in Thailand, and that the new outbreaks were caused by the continued smuggling of chicken meat.

Earlier this week, Tan Sri Muhyiddin suggested using the Internal Security Act to detain without trial poultry smugglers and curb rampant smuggling across the border.

Malaysia is also seeking an urgent meeting with the Thai authorities to discuss measures to combat the spread of the virus, including strengthening border security.

Bird flu has killed 28 people in Vietnam and Thailand this year and led to the slaughter of millions of birds.

Thailand decided yesterday to keep a ban on vaccines for all birds as nine more people were put under surveillance, officials said.

Eighty people have now been put under observation since the reappearance of the virus in July, with all but 12 of them cleared of having the deadly H5N1 virus, said the Thai Public Health Ministry.

One person died last week and another 11 were awaiting test results, it said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has criticised Thailand for not doing enough to monitor birds capable of carrying the avian flu virus after the country's ninth human death last week.

The WHO fears that the H5N1 virus could mutate into a highly contagious form, triggering a global human flu pandemic.

Yesterday, the European Union said it had extended its ban on Asian poultry imports for three more months to March 31 next year. -- AP, AFP, Reuters