No New Bird Flu Cases Detected In Malaysia So Far - Health DG

PUTRAJAYA, Dec 23 (Bernama) -- No new bird flu (Influenza A H5N1) cases have been detected in the country, either in humans or poultry, so far, said Health director-general Dr Hasan Abdul Rahman. He said the Health Ministry was closely following developments in the wake of media reports of an outbreak of bird flu in Hong Kong. "The public need not worry as the case in Hong Kong was limited to chickens. No human infection was detected and the Hong Kong authorities have taken control measures," he said in a statement here Thursday. Dr Hasan said this year, the World Health Organisation confirmed there were 57 cases of bird flu resulting in 30 deaths, 36 cases with 13 deaths in Egypt, Cambodia (eight cases with eight fatalities), Indonesia (11 cases with nine fatalities) and Bangladesh (two cases without any fatalities). He said the Health Ministry was well prepared to handle any bird flu pandemic through the National Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Plan (NIPPP) which had been in place since 2006 when the country first faced a bird flu outbreak. He also said the Veterinary Services Department (JPV) had not detected the Influenza A (H5N1) virus in poultry since 2007. "For 2011, JPV carried out 1,600 H5N1 tests on poultry samples and all the results were negative," he said. Dr Hasan said although the risks were minimal, Malaysians were advised to avoid markets where live chickens were sold when visiting countries where the virus had been detected. He said the public was also advised not to handle dead chickens without adequate personal protection equipment (PPE) and to report cases of unusual deaths among poultry to the nearest Veterinary Department office while poultry farmers were to heed all guidelines issued by JPV. The public was also advised to practise good hygiene at all times and get quick treatment if down with influenza-like illness (ILI), he added. -- BERNAMA