Malaysia has confined bird flu to three villages near its capital as teams of government workers and volunteers cull flocks of chickens and ducks to stamp out the H5N1 virus, officials said yesterday.
Malaysia has reported no human cases of the infection, but Wednesday's incident was the first time avian influenza had been found in the nation since March 21 last year when several chickens tested positive for the virus.
The disease had been limited to three villages after authorities culled about 8,000 ducks and chickens in the central state of Selangor, where the virus was found, a health official said.
"All precautionary measures have been taken, bird flu has been localized," said Lim Thuan Seng, a state health official.
Malaysian commercial farms have not been hit by bird flu, but Singapore has suspended imports of chicken and eggs from Selangor. Shares of Malaysian poultry and fast food firms fell as much as 4 percent yesterday.
Authorities have alerted medical centers in a 10km quarantine area around the site of the incident to watch for people with symptoms of virus infection, Lim said.
"Right now, we are putting medical clinics and the people on alert on possible infections," Lim said. "But there are no cases of humans getting infected."
"We are closely monitoring the area. There is no reason to be alarmed. Everything is under control," Veterinary Services Department chief Kamarudin Mohammed Isa said.
Volunteers wearing rubber gloves and masks, and some even with bare hands, went from village to village catching chickens as they scrabbled about on farms and in people's homes.
"It is easier to catch them at night, in the morning they are very active and they run very fast," a veterinary worker said as he put a squawking bird into a plastic bag.
"We have finished most of the chickens in this area and now we are looking for the remaining ones," said G. Krishnamoorthy, a member of a veterinary team.
Health authorities were alerted by a poultry farmer whose flock of 67 chickens dropped dead in batches over the past week despite being fed medicine, the New Straits Times newspaper said.
"The medicine did not work and they kept dying until none was left," former railwayman Udzuluddin Abd Karim, 71, who has been rearing chickens since 1975, told the paper.
After the carcasses of his last two chickens were confirmed to have bird flu, authorities swung into action, spraying the chicken coop with disinfectant and ordering check-ups for Karim's family that gave them a clean bill of health.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS