September 6, 2004

Malaysia Reports 2nd Bird Flu Outbreak

Malaysia has been hit by a new outbreak of bird flu, officials announced Monday. This is the second outbreak in 3 weeks since the country discovered the first case on August 17.

The H5 strain of avian flu had killed 30 birds -- chickens and quail -- on a farm in the northeastern state of Kelantan near Thailand, the veterinary department said.

More tests were needed to determine whether the virus was of the H5N1 strain, which has killed 27 people in Asia this year.

The disease was found in Belian village near Pasir Pekan where the first outbreak occurred last month. The presence of H5N1 strain was confirmed in that case.

A total of 1,200 birds, chickens and ducks within a one kilometre radius of Belian would be killed immediately to curb the spread of the disease. The quarantine order already in place would be extended, the veterinary department said in a statement.

"We are continuing with the tests to find out if it is the deadly H5N1 strain. We will know the results on Tuesday," Hawari Hussein, the department's director-general told AFP.

Hundreds of birds were culled after the first outbreak of H5N1, which the authorities said was restricted to one village. Veterinary officials also launched a nationwide inspection of poultry farms, commercial enterprises and bird parks.

Malaysia's Federation of Livestock Farmers Associations said the poultry industry was losing 10 million ringgit (2.63 million dollars) daily, following import bans by Singapore and other countries after the first outbreak.