Four in hospital cleared of bird flu

NST: Four people who were admitted to hospitals yesterday with symptoms of bird flu were today cleared of the disease.
They are expected to be discharged tomorrow.
Two members of a family, a 34-year-old man and seven-year-old boy, who are staying near the Bukit Merah Laketown Resort, were warded at the Batu Gajah Hospital last night after they suffered from fever, cough and sore throat, which are symptoms of bird flu.
While in Semanggol, which is 10km from Bukit Merah Laketown Resort, two teenage boys were admitted to the Taiping Hospital.
Meanwhile, the authorities continued with their culling in villages here.
In Muar, Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said patients brought in with the bird flu-like symptoms would be placed in isolation wards.
"We have intensified sur- veillance including house-to- house checks within a 300- metre radius from where the patients were staying.
"Up to last night, 68 houses had been checked and 278 residents examined," he said.
Dr Chua said those staying within the 300-metre radius and felt discomfort, had cough and sore throat should visit hospitals, clinics or personal doctors immediately.
He refuted a newspaper report that a farmer in Gopeng, Perak, had been diagnosed to have contracted a strain of the bird flu virus.
Meanwhile, the culling of kampung chickens at two villages in Kota Baru will be completed tomorrow.
Perak Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) assistant veterinary officer A. Muniandy said there were about 250 chickens left to be culled in Kampung Changkat Tualang and Kampung Redang Sawa.
So far 606 chickens have been culled.
Vehicles entering and leaving the affected areas are required to be disinfected.