November 24, 2004

Malaysia Extends Poultry Ban After Bird Flu Re-emerges

Malaysia has extended a ban on poultry movement in Kelantan state bordering Thailand after the bird flu virus was detected in chicken in a village there.

Veterinary Services Department director-general Hawari Hussein said the authorities had taken immediate steps to cull poultry in the Pulau Besar village in Kelantan after the virus was found in random samples two weeks ago.

There had been no transmission to humans but "we have extended the ban on Kelantan because it is not totally clear from bird flu. The threat of H5N1 remains high because it is still active and widespread in neighbouring Thailand," Hawari told AFP.

Malaysia's first case of the H5N1 strain of bird flu, which has killed at least 32 people in Thailand and Vietnam this year, was detected in a Kelantan village in August.

Officials say the disease was first brought into Malaysia by fighting cocks that had been exposed to the virus in Thailand and the outbreaks were caused by the continued smuggling of chicken meat.

The government would tighten preventive measures and border controls to ensure that no poultry would be transported in or out of the state, Hawari said.

The ban would remain in place for at least another 21 days and Malaysia would only be declared free from bird-flu after further surveillance and when lab tests proved negative for the disease, he said. The World Health Organisation has warned that the lethal H5N1 virus is endemic in the region and fears it could mutate into a highly contagious form that triggers a global human flu pandemic.