November 26, 2007

Bird flu found among chickens in Myanmar
 

Military-ruled Myanmar has detected a new outbreak of bird flu among chickens in an eastern district near the Chinese border, official media said no Saturday (November 24, 2007).

The outbreak was found at a farm in Kengtung township of eastern Shan state on November 18, after the farmer reported an unusual number of deaths in his chickens, the New Light of Myanmar said.

The government-mouthpiece newspaper said an unspecified number of chickens were slaughtered and restrictions were imposed on the movement of poultry in the area.

The outbreak was the first known case of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus in Myanmar since July, when more than 4,000 birds were slaughtered in towns near the main city of Yangon to contain the disease.

Myanmar's military rulers normally operate under a thick veil of secrecy, but the regime has won rare plaudits from the United Nations for its openness in combating bird flu.

The H5N1 strain first emerged in Asia in 2003, and has caused some 205 deaths in humans, with Indonesia and Vietnam among the worst hit countries, according to the World Health Organization.

Experts fear the death toll could rise sharply if the virus were to mutate and become easily transmissible between humans.