January 20, 2009
Myanmar bans poultry breeding in populated areas in Yangon
Myanmar has banned the breeding of poultry and pigs in populated areas in former capital Yangon in order to prevent bird flu outbreaks, said a report from a local weekly on Monday (Jan 19).
The Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department (LBVD) said the ban covers both commercial and home breeding, according to the report.
The authorities are also carrying out checks on live chickens in Yangon's markets to ensure the birds do not have H5N1 virus.
Meanwhile, Myanmar has stepped up biosecurity against cross-border bird flu, banning imports of poultry from neighbouring Bangladesh.
Biosecurity checks are also carried out at the Maungtaw border point to prevent the mixing of home-breed poultry with migratory wild birds that could be carrying the bird flu virus.
From February 2006 to December 2007, there were several bird flu outbreaks in Myanmar. In April last year, the World Animal Health Organisation (OIE) declared Myanmar as a bird-flu-free country, three months after the country had no remaining residual bird flu virus.
