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Malaysia 'free of bird flu'
22/06/2006 12:33 - (SA)
Putrajaya - Malaysia on Thursday declared itself free of bird flu, saying there had been no outbreaks of the deadly disease for the past three months, but said it would remain on high alert.
Agriculture minister Muhyiddin Yassin said: "Malaysia is now free of the H5N1 virus after three months since the last infection.
"Our surveillance has shown that there are no outbreaks. So today we declare Malaysia free of the bird flu virus."
However, the minister said that with the disease still spreading in neighbouring Indonesia, where 39 people had died, bans on imports of birds and eggs from affected countries remained in place and tough action would be taken against smugglers.
Malaysia 'still under threat'
He said: "Even though we declare today that we are free, we must remain alert because the disease is still found in our neighbouring countries. The threat is still there."
Malaysia reported a rash of outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 strain from February after it appeared in free-range chickens in villages near the capital, Kuala Lumpur, triggering the slaughter of tens of thousands of poultry.
Since then, the country had suffered five other outbreaks of the virus among poultry in the northern states of Perak and Penang.
After the February outbreak, authorities set up a surveillance area in a 10km radius, including the landmark Petronas Twin Towers and the National Zoo.
Farmers may be compensated
Muhyiddin assured the public that poultry in the markets was safe to eat, and said he hoped Singapore would lift its ban on duck imports from Perak.
He said: "I hope the industry will recover now." The minister said a total of $185 000 would be paid out over the culled flocks.
"We feel it's important to pay the compensation so that the farmers will come out and inform us if there are any outbreaks."
In new safety measures, Muhyiddin said that the slaughtering of chickens at "wet markets" must stop.
He said state governments had been asked to introduce regulations to force farmers to breed birds in cages instead of in the open, where they could mingle with wild birds that had been accused of spreading the disease.
Danger level 'still high'
He said: "The region is not free of the bird flu. In Indonesia, there are people who have died. In Malaysia, the humans have been spared.
"The light is still red, the danger level is still high, but mechanisms for the country are well in place, we have experienced staff and they can handle it."
The deaths of seven family members from bird flu in Indonesia's North Sumatra, across the sea from peninsular Malaysia, raised alarms here.
Police had been enlisted to help prevent birds and eggs from being brought into the country and coastal states had been put on high alert.
The H5N1 strain had killed more than 120 people in nine countries since 2003.
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