Teenager in contact with dead poultry warded

Star: PETALING JAYA: A teenage boy in Terengganu who came into contact with dead poultry that he reared has been admitted into hospital for fever and cough.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said in a statement yesterday that the Terengganu Health Depart- ment had reported that at 2pm on Saturday, a 16-year-old youth from Seberang Takir, whose chickens and ducks had died, was admitted to the Kuala Terengganu Hospital.
He added that a specimen had been sent to the Institute for Medical Research in Kuala Lumpur to test for the avian flu virus.
The Kuala Terengganu Veterinary Services Department had investigated the poultry and sent a sample for analysis at the Veterinary Research Institute in Ipoh, and the results would be known within a day.
Dr Chua also said that a 31-year-old man who worked at the Uni- versity Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) had been referred to the Sungai Buloh Hospital and subsequently warded there.
The man lived at the Subang Suria apartment, which is within a400m radius of where the virus had been detected, and is reported to be in stable condition.
The avian flu virus was detected last Tuesday in Kampung Paya Jaras Hilir in Sungai Buloh.
Dr Chua said that active surveillance was no longer being carried out as all homes within 300m of the location had been visited and interviews with residents had been completed.
“Monitoring and observation are being focussed on the 30 villagers who have been put under home surveillance, and all are healthy. This activity will last for a week from the last day of culling,” he said.
He said that the nine cases in Sungai Buloh and Malacca had tested negative for the avian flu virus, adding that five cases at the Sungai Buloh hospital were discharged while the remaining two had been transferred to a normal ward for suspicion of dengue fever. The two cases in Malacca and two siblings in Kedah were also discharged.
He said that 43 people had been monitored so far, with 30 put under home surveillance and 13 others under observation.
Health Ministry parliamentary secretary Datuk Lee Kah Choon said it could not be immediately confirmed if fighting cockerels brought in from neighbouring countries were the cause of the outbreak.
“The virus could have been brought in by wild migratory birds,” he said in Penang yesterday.
Veterinary Services Department director-general Datuk Dr Abd Aziz Jamaluddin when contacted said that “mop up” activities would begin today after culling ended yesterday.
He said that owners would not get compensation for any poultry culled during the cleaning up process.
Some 3,692 poultry have been culled and he estimated that between RM80,000 and RM100,000 in compensation had been paid. About 600 fighting cockerels had been culled as of Saturday.
Dr Abd Aziz added that a strategy to further strengthen the national preparedness plan to combat bird flu would be proposed to the Government.