February 27, 2015
H5N1 bird flu outbreak hits Myanmar; thousands of poultry killed
Thousands of poultry have been culled in Myanmar in an effort to contain an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in Monywa, northwest of Mandalay, Reuters reported on Thursday.
The same region also suffered from an H5N1 outbreak in 2006.
A health official said over 1,400 chickens and 10,000 quail died in the Monywa outbreak early this month and that about 1,500 chickens and more than 20,000 quail had since been culled.
H5N1 has spread from Asia, where it was first detected in 1997, to Europe and Africa and has become entrenched in poultry in some countries. It has caused millions of poultry infections and several hundred human deaths.
Since the start of the year, several outbreaks of H5N1 bird flu have been reported in other countries or places including:
Vietnam's Ke Sach district in Soc Trang province. The outbreak, which started on February 23, has resulted in the deaths of around 100 of a 1,110-bird flock; the rest were destroyed.
British Columbia where a hobby poultry flock was affected for the first time early this month.
Hamerkaz, Israel, where four outbreaks were reported to have started between January 27 and 30. One outbreak affected a broiler breeder flock and the other three, turkeys.
Five states in Nigeria on January 21; Nigeria's agriculture minister confirmed that tens of thousands of poultry had been killed by the strain.
Farming communities in Aviel and Hadera in Haifa District, Israel, on January 14.
Aviel near Hadera in Israel where about 15,000 birds died and a Palestinian coop near Jenin where 4,000 birds suffered from the disease. These were reported by Israeli and Palestinian authorities in January.