March 7, 2006

Singapore to implement new bird flu measures

Singapore will order poultry farms to segregate egg collection and to avoid sharing equipment to prevent the spread of bird flu and is prepared to vaccinate birds if needed, a minister said Monday (Mar 6).

Singapore will implement "bio-segregation" to minimise inter-farm contact to prevent any potential spread of virus should there be a bird flu outbreak, said Heng Chee How, minister of state for National Development during a parliamentary committee meeting.

Heng did not give a timeframe for the bio-segregation measures, which include banning farms from sharing equipment and separating egg collection from production areas.

"With effective bio-segregation, should there be an isolated outbreak within a cluster, poultry in other clusters need not be culled, thus enhancing the resilience of our local egg supply," Heng said in a statement.

He said the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority will also implement emergency vaccination of poultry in local farms when there is an imminent risk of bird flu spreading in Singapore.

Emergency vaccination will only be activated under severe circumstances, for example, if there are rampant outbreaks in nearby areas, he said.

Singapore has taken stringent measures such as inspecting poultry imports and guarding against bird smuggling to prevent against the disease.

The government has already vaccinated birds at Jurong Bird Park and the zoo, the minister said.

Singapore is still safe from the bird flu virus despite the detection of the disease in Indonesia and Malaysia.