September 22, 2005

Malaysia seeks OIE declaration of its bird flu-free status

According to reports, Malaysia sought a declaration from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) that the country was free from bird flu.

Malaysia's government said that except for Singapore, other importing countries appeared to doubt the safety of Malaysian poultry products.

In response, the government wanted the OIE to inform the importing countries that Malaysian measures in controlling bird flu were "most transparent".

So far, Malaysia had no reported human cases of bird flu, although many poultry were culled last year as a result of an outbreak in Kelantan state.

However, the government also said the country was on alert for the virus following the recent human deaths in Indonesia from bird flu.