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New H5N1 case in Malaysia
20/03/2006 13:47 - (SA)
Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia on Monday announced a new outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in a village in the northern state of Penang.
Mustapa Jalil, acting director-general of the veterinary services department, said the outbreak, the third in less than a week, was detected in six dead birds in the village of Permatang Bagak.
He said: "We have activated a rapid action team, which will slaughter all the birds in the area." He said that officials began testing the birds, out of a group of 20, on March 18.
Mustapa said: "We confirmed the H5N1 outbreak on March 20th, which is today."
He said that most of the birds in the village were free-range chickens, adding that there were at least 200 of them within a one-kilometre radius of the outbreak.
40 000 birds destroyed
He said that the health department had also been alerted. The village was in the north of mainland Penang, which bordered Perak state, where the two earlier outbreaks were announced Thursday.
Mainland Penang was just across a narrow channel from its popular resort island.
But, the head of the veterinary department's disease control unit, Kamaruddin Mat Isa, said the latest outbreak was not linked to the Perak outbreaks.
Kamaruddin said: "I don't think it has come from Perak. It has not spread from Perak to Penang", adding that officials on Sunday had completed the slaughter of more than 40 000 birds in Perak to contain the disease.
He said: "It's not spread from one location to the surrounding area, but there are multiple locations", confirming that officials were worried concerning the development.
Kamaruddin said the slaughter of birds within a one-kilometre radius of the Penang village was due to start late on Monday.
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