Large-Scale Operation To Monitor Bird Flu In KL

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 (Bernama) -- The Veterinary Services Department (JPH), along with the Veterinary Faculty of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and various government agencies, will launch a large-scale operation on Friday to detect any sign of Avian Influenza over an area of 10-km radius spreading out from Jalan Genting-Kelang.
JPH acting Director-General Datuk Dr Mustapa Abd Jalil said the operation was to contain the Avian Influenza H5N1 virus that had killed 40 fowls in the Jalan Genting-Kelang area last Sunday.
Inspections and monitoring for signs of the disease, which can also be fatal for humans, were continuing in areas regarded to be at risk, he said in a statement released here Thursday.
"No signs of the virus spreading have been detected so far. All poultry meat and eggs in the market are safe for consumption. Just follow the recommendation of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to cook poultry products up to at least 70 degrees Celsius for a minimum of 30 minutes," he said.
He said that so far 1,970 chickens, 62 ducks, 72 fowls and 505 eggs had been destroyed in a culling exercise over a radius of one kilometre from where the problem surfaced.
He also said that checks conducted on owners of chicken or fowls and pet shops over a radius of three kilometres from Jalan Genting-Kelang, which included Selayang, Batu and Hulu Kelang, had been negative.
Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek had on Wednesday night said that tests conducted on five of seven people admitted to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital to ascertain if they have been infected by the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus proved negative.
A two-year-old boy, reported to be in good health, was still in the hospital while awaiting the test result and another suspected case, a 17-month-old child, had been admitted to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital for observation, he had said.

In PENANG, residents were advised to contact the state JPH if they came across unusual deaths among chickens or birds.
Penang JPH Director Dr Mohd Zairi Serlan said they could contact its branches throughout the state or its operations room at 04-508 4363 or 04-508 4369 during office hours.
"Do not act on your own if chickens or fowls suddenly die. Let us handle it," he said when contacted here today.
Mohd Zairi added that all entry points and tourists and foreigners coming into the state were being closely monitored for signs of bird flu and also to prevent attempts to smuggle in birds or fowls.
Meanwhile, state Health, Welfare and Caring Society Committee Chairman P. Subbaiyah said that so far no reports of infection by the virus had been received in Penang and that all hospitals there had been placed on full alert.

In KUALA TERENGGANU, the JPH there is studying whether to ban the entry of chicken from Selangor.
Terengganu JPH Director Dr Azizol Mohd Sharom said the department had collected 80 blood samples from chickens and birds over two days from Feb 6 and were waiting for the results form the Veterinary Research Institute in Ipoh. He said operations were in full swing to prevent a possible outbreak in the state.

In KUCHING, Sarawak has imposed a total ban on imports of bird products, including chicken, from Peninsular Malaysia from last Tuesday as part of its preventive measures to avert the spread of the H5N1 avian influenza virus to the state.
Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan said the state goverment would review the decision based on the latest developments on the spread of the virus in the peninsula, and may restrict the import of bird products to those coming from areas there were unaffected by the killer disease.
"We are taking extreme caution and watching developments there," he told a news conference Thursday.
Dr Chan, who is also Agriculture Modernisation Minister, said that at the same time the police and army would also strictly monitor movements along the Sarawak-Kalimantan border to prevent the smuggling of birds into the state.

In KANGAR, Perlis residents were asked not to shoot migratory birds for food to avert risk of infection.
State Agriculture and Rural Development Committee Chairman Khairi Hassan said Perlis viewed the developments seriously and was taking all necessary precautionary measures to avert an outbreak in the state.
Speaking to reporters after the presentation of aid by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim to 3,000 padi farmers who were affected by the recent floods in Perlis at the Dewan 2020 here today, he said the ban on poultry imports from Thailand imposed three years ago was still in force.
He added that 10 chicken farms in the state operated by individuals and government agencies involving 15,000 birds had been checked so far but no signs of bird flu had been found.