Dead pigeons cause scare in Malaysia but tests rule out bird flu

MSN:KUALA LUMPUR -- The sight of about 100 dead pigeons recently caused a bird flu scare in a western Malaysian town, but tests showed they had not contracted the virus, an Agriculture Ministry official said Sunday.
Hawari Hussein, director general of the ministry's Veterinary Services department, said veterinary officials hope further tests will establish what killed the pigeons in Bidor, about 120 kilometers north of Kuala Lumpur.
"The test results confirm that it's not avian flu," Hawari told the Associated Press.
Hawari said he did not know when the birds died. Local officials were not immediately available to comment Sunday.
The Sunday Star newspaper suggested that someone may have poisoned the pigeons after they became a nuisance in the area. Hawari said the next set of tests would determine if this was the case.
Authorities, however, were not taking any chances and have ordered all clinics in the town to be on alert for people with bird flu symptoms including a high fever, cough and breathing problems, the paper reported, citing Perak state health committee chairman Tan Chin Meng.
Malaysia officially declared itself free of bird flu in January, six weeks after more than 18,000 birds were culled after the virus showed up in chickens in north peninsular Malaysia bordering Thailand.
Since late 2003, the virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu has ravaged poultry stocks and killed at least 62 people in Southeast Asia, according to the World Health Organization. No human infections have been reported in Malaysia. (AP)