No Fear Of H5N1 Spreading From China - Health D-G

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 1 (Bernama) -- The Health Ministry has allayed any fear of the spread of bird flu from China where a man has died of the disease.

Director-General of Health Datuk Dr Hasan Abdul Rahman said today Malaysia is ready to tackle any case of the Influenza A (H5N1) on humans under the National Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Plan activated in 2006.

The ministry is monitoring the situation in Shenzhen, he said in a statement.

A 39-year-old bus driver died of H5N1 in Shenzhen after he was admitted to hospital with pneumonia but tested positive for the bird flu virus.

Dr Hasan said the China case is an isolated one and there has been no spread of the disease among the 120 nearest contacts of the dead man.

He also said that there has been no case of Influenza A (H5N1) among humans in Malaysia and monitoring by the Veterinary Services Department showed no positive samples of the disease in birds in the country since 2007.

Dr Hasan said that up to Dec 15, the World Health Organisation has confirmed 57 H5N1 cases involving 30 deaths in four countries, namely Egypt (36 cases, 13 deaths), Indonesia (11 cases, nine deaths), Cambodia (eight cases, eight deaths) and Bangladesh (two cases).

He advised Malaysians against going to markets selling birds during their visits to countries where H5N1 has been detected.