New bird flu outbreak in Malaysia
(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)KUALA LUMPUR, March 20_(Kyodo) _ Malaysia announced Monday the H5N1 virus has struck poultry in northern Penang State, the third bird flu outbreak in two weeks.
A veterinary official told Kyodo News the often deadly virus was found among six samples taken from 20 dead chickens found in Seberang Prai, a Penang territory located on the mainland at the foot of the Penang Bridge.
“Those are domestically bred chickens and we have launched the culling exercise of all birds within the 1 km radius,” Kamaruddin Mohamad Isa of the Veterinary Services Department said.
Last Wednesday, the H5N1 virus was reported at two areas in the Perak State, just south of Penang. One of the infected sites was a bird park at Bukit Merah Laketown Resort, a popular tourist spot. The other was at Changkat Tualang, which is less then 100 km from the resort.
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The discovery in Perak, home to the country’s biggest poultry industry, led to the killing of more than 42,000 chickens, ducks and wild birds.
Singapore, where 80 percent of its ducks comes from Perak, has imposed an immediate suspension of import of all poultry from the state.
Perak has 118 commercial duck farms.
The H5N1 virus first made its appearance in Malaysia in 2004 in the northeastern state Kelantan. By January 2005, the country declared itself free of the bird flu, but the virus resurfaced Feb. 20 on the fringes of the Kuala Lumpur city center.