April 22, 2016

Lebanon is set to cull hens, chickens and birds after the H5 virus was detected in a poultry farm in Nabi Sheet town in Bekaa Valley in the eastern part of the country, while in Myanmar 23,226 chickens have been killed as of Tuesday (April 19) to prevent the spread of H9N2 bird flu.

Stressing that they had taken the necessary measures, Lebanese Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayeb said Thursday, April 21, that the killing of the affected fowl would be done under his ministry's supervision to ensure control of the virus.

He added that the virus was confined so far in Nabi Sheet.

Dr. Walid Ammar,director general of the Ministry of Public Health, gave the assurance that chickens in the Lebanese market were "fine" and that "nothing is leading to a worse situation".

One of the measures taken to prevent the spread of the virus, he told the National News Agency, was the setting of an epidemic zone, which was cordoned off to prevent smuggling of the affected chickens.

In Myanmar, local media reported that H9N2 bird flu occurred in Monywa in Sagaing region earlier this month.

Local regional authorities said 47 poultry farms owned by 29 breeders had been affected.

A special health team has put up a restricted farming zone in Monywa which, early last year, was also hit with H5N1 bird flu, leading to the killing of more than 140,000 chickens and 500,000 quails.