September 20, 2004

Myanmar Increases Precautionary Measures Against Bird Flu

Myanmar has stepped up precautionary measures against bird flu following the renewed outbreak of the disease in some Southeast Asian countries.

However, no such cases have been reported in Myanmar so far, official sources said.

The precautionary measures include alerting farmers to report any unusual increase in mortality rate among poultry, the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department was quoted as saying.

Moreover, a temporary ban is being imposed on poultry imports from Malaysia, the first area where bird flu was reported last month.

Meanwhile, a ban is still effective on poultry imports from Thailand, one of the regional countries worst affected by the disease.

Since early January this year, Myanmar banned all poultry imports when bird flu broke out in its neighboring countries. However it had allowed imports of broiler chicken breeding stocks from some countries since April amid concerns about a decline in the production of day-old chickens.

The import ban over the period between January and April brought about a marked decline in the number of broiler chicken breeding stock entering the country.

As demand recovered since last May, chicken prices have become stable again.

There are 63 million chickens in Myanmar, of which 50 million are bred outdoor in rural areas.

Since bird flu was first reported in the region in January, millions of chickens across the country have been checked as part of its preventive measures against the possible outbreak of the disease.