Malaysia gasses chickens in bird flu battle

Malaysia gasses chickens in bird flu battle

Reuters/Kampung Pasir Pekan, Malaysia

Malaysia gassed hundreds of screeching birds in a village near
the Thai border on Thursday, seeking a quick end to its first
outbreak of bird flu, a scourge that has killed 27 people in
Southeast Asia this year.

Malaysia banned exports of poultry and slapped a quarantine
for 10 km (6 miles) around a property where two chickens were
found on Wednesday to have avian influenza.

The recent deaths of three people in Vietnam have been blamed
on the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. That strain was also
blamed for 16 deaths there and eight in Thailand early this year.

Most of this year's cases -- including recent outbreaks in
China, Indonesia, Canada and South Africa -- have been of strains
limited to birds and initial tests suggested the Malaysian
outbreak was also unlikely to cross the species barrier.

Squawking chickens scampered around the village of Pasir Pekan
as health officials rounded them up and stuffed them into plastic
bags, into which carbon dioxide was pumped.

Stunned villagers stood by watching, offering no protest as
officials killed around 300 birds, including fighting fowl and
magpies. The carcasses were to be burnt.

"We accept the decision. We don't want our birds to cause
sickness to anyone," said 43-year-old Rubiaah Abdullah, who
turned in nearly a dozen of her pets. She said her husband was
indoors as he could not bear to watch.

Malaysia said the outbreak in northern Kelantan state, around
350 km (220 miles) northeast of Kuala Lumpur, was of the H5
strain that only affects birds.

But people in the area were being monitored and the birds were
being tested for any sign of the deadly H5N1 strain, said Nik
Mazian Nik Mohamad, the Kelantan state executive councillor for
agriculture.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says past human cases of
bird flu have been limited to people living or working in close
contact with birds, rather than by eating poultry meat or eggs.

There has been some infection of health workers, but the WHO's
bigger fear is that the virus will mix with human influenza and
start a new pandemic that kills millions of people.

Malaysian officials said the source of the outbreak was not
known, but they were eyeing the border with Thailand -- the
world's fourth largest chicken exporter until bird flu hit this
year, prompting a cull of more than 60 million birds.

"We have been on alert ever since the outbreak in southern
Thailand. All the more now, we will increase the security along
the border," Nik Mazian said.

Malaysia said commercially produced poultry was safe and its
export ban was just a precaution. Poultry stayed on sale in local
shops.

Japan had already banned Malaysian poultry after Singapore
reported a suspected case of bird flu in imported live Malaysian
ducks. The European Union has banned poultry and pet birds from
at least nine Asian countries due to bird flu outbreaks.

Bird flu scares have hit the shares of listed Malaysian
poultry firms, including Leong Hup Holdings, QSR Brands, KFC
Holdings and egg producer TPOC Plus.

Malaysia produces 1.1 million chickens a day, mostly for
domestic use. Exports take around a third of production.

It's biggest foreign market, Singapore, had been buying more
than 100,000 birds and 2 million eggs a day from Malaysia.