November 28, 2005

Malaysia's Sarawak state kills smuggled birds to avoid flu

Authorities in Malaysia's Sarawak state have seized and killed hundreds of birds and poultry smuggled in the past two months from Indonesia's Kalimantan region, as a preventive measure against bird flu, a news report said Monday.

Malaysian and Indonesian villages along the boundary line on Borneo island were often located very close by, with people crossing over frequently bringing fighting cocks for sparring sessions despite a statewide ban on fowl from Indonesia two months ago, the Star newspaper reported.

State Deputy Chief Minister George Chan was quoted as saying that "hundreds of chickens and birds" have been destroyed "humanely and professionally" regardless of whether they were found infected with bird flu.

He said Malaysian customs officers have stopped several attempts at smuggling live chickens into the state, and that all seized birds and poultry were tested for bird flu. The report did not say how many birds were seized or whether the animals were found to be sick.

"Extra-tight precautions must be imposed because the bird flu situation in Indonesia seems to be getting increasingly worse," Chan reportedly said. "Sarawak is a very big state and we cannot take things for granted."

No suspected bird flu case has been reported in the state yet, he added.

Chan and his aides were not immediately reachable for further details because they were in a state council meeting Monday morning, a secretary in his office said.

Indonesia reported its 12th human case of the disease on Saturday. Seven people have died there, and the H5N1 virus has been found in 23 of Indonesia's 30 provinces.