Malaysia Veterinary Forum (Archive)

Dr. TanDY

I just received an SMS from a reliable source that avian flu virus H5N1 has been DETECTED in village chicken (Ayam Kampung) in Malaysia!
(location: genting klang?) :shock: :shock: :?

Tonight press statement will be issued. This information was said to be from DVS (Department of Veterinary Services) to FLFAM (Federation of Livestock Farmer's Associations of Malaysia)

Let's watch tonight news and see!
:!: :!:

kcniv · Joined: 15 Jan 2006 Posts: 52

Langkah-langkah untuk pencegahan Avian Flu
1. Perlaksanaan bio-security secara ketat untuk mencegah penularan atau penyebaran melalui tindakan mengisolasi penternakan
2. Memusnahan unggas secara selektif di daerah tertular, serta perlaksanaan vaksinasi
3. Pengaturan secara ketat terhadap pengeluaran dan pemasukan unggas hidup, telur, dan produk unggas serta limbah penternakan,
4. Perlaksanaan surveillance,
5. Meningkatkan kesedaran (awareness) masyarakat,
6. Pengisian kembali unggas,
7. Pemusnahan unggas secara menyeluruh di daerah tertular baru,
8. Monitoring, pelaporan dan evaluasi

Dr.Tandy, apakah para ahli melakukan uji dengan strain H5N2 (Virus lapangan) ? Atau dikenal dengan DIVA (Differentiating Infected from Vaccinated Animals)...??? Thanx

Dr. TanDY · Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 11:04 pm Post subject: Follow up

Latest News from Bernama.com
Malaysian National News Agency

Singapore Suspends Poultry And Egg Imports From Selangor

February 20, 2006 22:25 PM

SINGAPORE, Feb 20 (Bernama) -- Singapore's food security authority, the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA), has suspended poultry and egg imports from Selangor with immediate effect after receiving what it said is "information on the detection of H5N1 in kampung chickens" at a village in the state.

AVA said in a statement late Monday that the suspension of imports was a precautionary measure, in line with the established protocol between the veterinary authorities of the two countries for poultry imports from disease-free zones in Malaysia.

"The current suspension will not affect poultry imports from the disease-free zones of Johor, Malacca, Perak and Negri Sembilan," the agency said.

AVA said it would continue to work closely with the Malaysian Veterinary Services Department to monitor the development of the disease situation to ensure that poultry imported do not compromise public and animal health.

The import suspension would not have any impact on Singapore's poultry supply, AVA said.

"Although five chicken broiler farms in Selangor had been accredited to supply poultry to Singapore, there had been no exports from these farms to Singapore since Aug 2004," it said.

There was currently only one approved layer farm in Selangor supplying eggs to Singapore.

"As imports from this farm constitute only five per cent of total egg imports from Malaysia, the impact of the suspension on our egg supply is negligible," it said, adding that poultry and poultry products in Singapore are safe for consumption.

"AVA reassures the public that we will maintain vigilance to ensure that Singapore remains free from bird flu. We will also step up surveillance and inspections at the points of entry to prevent the incursion of the disease," the agency said.

-- BERNAMA

Abymummy · Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 74 Location: Kuala Lumpur

I read about this in the paper today. So far, only the chickens right? No human beings yet, kan.

Dr. Tan, what should we humans do to protect ourselves from this? Takkan nak stop eating chicken?!

Also, can it be transferred to other animals such as cats??

Dr. TanDY · Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 11:04 am Post subject:

For all you should know about bird flu (Avian Influenza) visit the CDC web sites. Their information is authoritative (reliable).

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) coverage on Avian Influenza:

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/

World Health Organization (WHO) - talk about "is it safe to eat chicken issue"

http://www.who.int/foodsafety/micro/avian/en/

According to WHO, so far: "

there is no evidence that suggests bird flu can be transmitted to humans through properly cooked food. However, there are cases that have been linked to eating raw contaminated poultry blood.

Dr. TanDY · Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 11:28 am Post subject:

For rapid detection of AI, usually scientist uses molecular diagnostic methods to amplify certain region of the viral nucleic acid sequences by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based techniques.

kcniv · Joined: 15 Jan 2006 Posts: 52

Abymummy wrote: What should we humans do to protect ourselves from this? Takkan nak stop eating chicken?! Also, can it be transferred to other animals such as cats??
Never CLOSE CONTACT with chickens and chicken faeces... Stop eating chicken??? Hmmm, kalau makan daging ayam, boleh-boleh saja tapi dengan syarat MASAK dengan BENAR (Not mentah)...Coz the virus tidak tahan terhadap panas (60 - 70 Degree Celsius selama 2 - 10 minutes)... Di Thailand ada satu kes dimana kucing dapat menularkan AI ke manusia (Kemungkinan kucing yang dibiarkan berkeliaran dihalaman rumah yang memelihara ayam2 yang terinfeksi)... Tapi untuk kucing tersebut terinfeksi AI... saya belum pernah dengar... :D

Dr Chong · Joined: 12 Dec 2005 Posts: 666 Location: KL

Eating fully cooked chicken meat is still okay... but bear in mind that we do contact with raw chicken meat during cooking, thus hygiene is of paramount importance during cooking... precautions should be taken...
If you suspected the raw chicken meat that you get may be AI-infected, or if you suspected the cooked chicken meat migth be contaminated by raw chicken meat or faeces... discard them properly.
I had chicken meat yesterday night also... think will be the first enjoying KFC if they reduced the price... haha

Dr. TanDY · Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 10:13 am Post subject:

Quote: ... think will be the first enjoying KFC if they reduced the price... haha

Oh yeah.. Have been waiting for the slashing of KFC price :-P

BTW I heard CNN has quite a coverage on the AI in Malaysia, unlike Malaysian media. Hopefully the local media don't cover up AI outbreak here. It is important to let the public know the truth.

Dr. TanDY · Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 12:58 pm Post subject:

Another follow-up from Reuters

Wednesday February 22, 11:54 AM

Malaysia widens search for flu-hit birds

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia on Wednesday took its search for birds stricken with avian flu to the heart of its capital as speculation grew that smuggled fighting cocks could have brought the virus into the country.
Authorities have killed about 500 suspect birds and are checking people's health to contain what they called an isolated case of the H5N1 virus on the edge of the capital, Malaysia's first reported outbreak of bird flu in more than a year.

Veterinary department official Kamaruddin Mohamad Isa confirmed the search for possibly infected chickens would include an area that is home to the world's tallest twin towers, the Petronas Towers.

"We only look for chickens," he said, adding that searching an area 10 km around the site of the first case was standard operating procedure.

No human cases have so far been reported in Malaysia, which had last reported the H5N1 virus in a chicken in the northern state of Kelantan in 2004.

The fresh case of bird flu hit shares of poultry farms and prompted neighbour Singapore to suspend imports from the central Malaysian state of Selangor, where officials said the virus had killed 40 chickens last week.

H5N1 avian influenza has spread in chickens from Korea, across China, south into Indonesia, west across Turkey into western Europe and into the African continent.

It has killed or forced the culling of more than 200 million birds in more than 30 countries. While it does not easily infect people, it has sickened 170 people and killed 92, according to the latest World Health Organization figures.

The H5N1 virus could have been carried to Malaysia by smuggled fighting cocks or pet birds brought in from neighbouring countries, some officials said.

"Cockerels may have been brought here by foreign workers who organised illegal cock fights," the New Straits Times newspaper quoted an unidentified health department official as saying.

Illegal imports of pet birds or fighting cocks probably triggered the outbreak, a group of poultry breeders also said, and demanded stronger punishment, including jail terms, to deter smugglers of poultry and poultry products.

It will take two weeks to pin down the source of the H5N1 virus, Bernama news agency quoted a veterinary official as saying on Tuesday.

"We have to ascertain the form and pattern of the virus, whether it is the same as the virus which had affected Kelantan, Indonesia, Vietnam or Thailand to find out where the virus came from," Aziz Jamaluddin, deputy director of the veterinary services department told reporters.

******

P/S: Now only I know that there are chickens in Petronas Tower... So beware! :lol:

Dr. TanDY · Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 11:33 am Post subject:

This one from Bloomberg.com
The bird flu outbreak in Malaysia is getting more intense now.

Malaysia Says Five People Test Negative for Bird Flu

Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Five of seven people hospitalized in Malaysia for suspected avian influenza have tested negative for the H5N1 virus, a Health Ministry spokesman said.

Health Minister Chua Soi Lek was notified that the tests showed they were clear of the virus, Yap Soo Kian, his media secretary, said in a telephone interview. They are expected to be released from hospital tomorrow, he said.

The test results of the other two are not known, he said.

The outbreak of bird flu in Malaysia is the first in the country in more than a year. Malaysia is investigating how 40 chickens became infected and died last week in the central state of Selangor and the result of the probe may be known within a week. Singapore has banned the import of poultry and eggs from the state.

The virus in birds creates more opportunity for human infection and increases the risk of it mutating into a pandemic form that could kill millions of people. Most of the people who have contracted the virus handled infected poultry or came in contact with their excrement. At least 92 of the 170 people known to have been infected globally with bird flu have died.

The seven people, two adults and five children who live near the site of the outbreak, were admitted to hospital with breathing problems and fever.

Malaysia confirmed the outbreak yesterday among small-scale poultry farms that rear chickens behind houses, the country's Ministry of Health said in a statement today.

The government sent 11 teams to the affected areas and 916 residents have been screened, state news agency Bernama reported, citing the health minister.

A total of 494 chickens, ducks and birds were culled yesterday and house-to-house checks for human infection have begun in four villages around the 7-kilometer (4 1/2-mile) Genting-Klang Road in Gombak district in Selangor, where the disease was detected, Kamaruddin Md Isa, head of the disease control unit at the Veterinary Services Department, said today.

Dr. TanDY · Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 7:59 am Post subject:

Another follow-up from Channel NewsAsia

Malaysia widens bird flu operations to contain outbreak
By Channel NewsAsia's Malaysia Correspondent Johnson Choo
24 February 2006 2017 hrs

Malaysia has launched the second phase in its efforts to contain the H5N1 bird flu virus within Selangor state.

In the first stage, more than 2,000 poultry and birds were culled in Setapak where at least 40 chickens died of the virus.

Officials have taken more than 300 swab samples from birds and all have tested negative for bird flu.

The surveillance has now been widened to a ten-kilometre radius of the affected area.

Suited up in protective outfits and masks, officers from Malaysia's Veterinary Services Department and Kuala Lumpur City Council embarked on a further round of culling.

Their target - the many kampung chickens that have evaded capture in the week since the H5N1 avian flu virus was confirmed in a nearby Selangor village.

Some have been hidden by villagers trying to save them from slaughter.

But dead birds can still be seen littering the ground.

They are a source of worry to the authorities, as their presence points to possible new infections.

To prevent bird flu from spreading beyond Selangor, the Malaysian authorities are working closely with Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority.

Singapore has banned the import of poultry products from the state, but those from disease-free areas like Malacca, Negri Sembilan and Johor are permitted. - CNA/ch

Dr. TanDY · Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 3:12 pm Post subject:

My sources told me that there are 2 more isolations of highly pathogenic Avian Influenza virus were found in Perak – Bukit Merah and Gopeng.

Please share with us if you have more info regarding this latest issue...

Dr. TanDY

My sources are right... Read this...

But please do not be panic, so far there is no case of human being infected by bird flu in Malaysia

******************************

Malaysia reports fresh cases of bird flu

Thursday March 16, 6:31 PM

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia reported two new cases of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu on Thursday in a wild bird and among dead chickens in the central state of Perak.

A senior veterinary official, reading from a statement prepared by the agriculture ministry, said bird culling had begun in a 1 km radius around both spots where the cases were detected.

The wild bird was found in a nature reserve about 100 km away from a village where nine chicken deaths were reported on March 11, the official told Reuters. Samples taken from the dead chickens tested positive for H5N1, he added.

On Feb 20, Malaysia reported its first case of bird flu since November 2004, when the H5N1 virus was given as the cause of death of 40 chickens in Selangor state.

Dr. TanDY

Singapore reacts to the issue rapidly...

************************************

Singapore suspends poultry imports from Perak after H5N1 cases

Source: channelnewsasia.com

Date: 16 March 2006 2157 hrs (SST)

SINGAPORE : The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority has imposed a suspension on imports of poultry and poultry products from Perak with immediate effect.

The suspension follows news from Malaysia that an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 avian flu has been confirmed in the state, in Bukit Merah Laketown Resort's EcoPark and Kampong Changkat Tualang.

AVA says the current suspension will not affect poultry imports from the disease-free zones in Johor, Malacca and Negri Sembilan.

The suspension will also not affect the supplies of chicken and egg as Singapore does not import these from Perak.

But AVA says there will be a temporary shortfall of ducks.

This is because Perak supplies about 80 percent of Singapore's total duck consumption.

In the last two months, 93 percent of ducks available in Singapore are derived from live ducks imported from Malaysia and the remaining 7 percent are frozen ducks imported from countries such as the Netherlands and the US.

Perak supplies about 86 percent of Singapore's total live duck imports - about 20,000 ducks per day - and the rest comes from Johor state.

To minimise the impact on Singapore's duck supply, AVA is working closely with trade partners to increase imports of frozen duck from the Netherlands and the US.

AVA reassures the public that it will maintain its vigilance to ensure that Singapore remains free from bird flu.

It is also stepping up surveillance and inspections at the points of entry to prevent the incursion of the disease.

AVA stresses that poultry and poultry products in Singapore are safe for consumption. - CNA /ct