More info on bird flu soon

Star: KUALA LUMPUR: An announcement on the avian flu situation in Setapak here will be made in two weeks, said Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek.
He said the announcement would be made by the Veterinary Services Department as the matter involved fowls.
Dr Chua said passive surveillance on the area where the infected fowls were detected started last Saturday and would last two weeks before the situation is assessed again.
Passive surveillance means that the Government would act upon information, he added.
Active surveillance was carried out from Feb 20 for five days. A total 854 households were visited and 3,120 occupants interviewed within a 300m radius from where the infected fowls were detected.
He said there was no new case admitted to Kuala Lumpur Hospital here as of yesterday afternoon when the five who were warded earlier for suspected avian flu had been discharged.
Prior to this, 10 patients were also discharged after they tested negative.
Dr Chua said the admission was a precautionary measure, adding that there was still no clinical evidence that the disease could spread from human to human like SARS.
He urged the public not to be swayed by rumours.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Red Crescent Society (MRCS) has distributed 5,000 leaflets containing background and information on how to prevent bird flu.
The leaflets were distributed to residents within a 10km radius from the location along Jalan Genting Klang where 40 chickens died of the H5N1 virus.
Some 55 MRCS volunteers went around Jalan Genting Klang, Kampung Pasir Wardieburn, Taman Danau Kota, Pekan Danau Kota and Kampung Datuk Keramat to hand out the leaflets yesterday.
MRCS operations director Mohd Kamal Omar said this was in line with the Health Ministry's move to educate the public about the disease.
He said two MRCS ambulances were on 24-hour stand-by to transfer anyone with flu symptoms to Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
“As a precautionary measure, we are not differentiating between ordinary flu and bird flu,” he said.