Malaysia pledges openness on bird flu outbreak

Malaysia pledges openness on bird flu outbreak

Reuters, Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia pledged on Saturday to be open about the country's first
outbreak of a deadly bird flu, after accusations the media had
faced political pressure to play down the issue.

"Of course we'll be completely transparent. There's no
question of that," Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told
Reuters when asked about the arrival in Malaysia of the H5N1
strain of the virus, blamed for 27 deaths in Asia this year.

Preliminary tests on three people suffering from cold symptoms
who have been quarantined in hospital showed they did not have
bird flu, a health official told the national Bernama news
agency.

Two of those in hospital -- a 16-year-old girl and her mother
-- lived in the village near the Thai border where two infected
chickens were found. The third is a veterinary worker sent to the
village after the outbreak was discovered.

The World Health Organization fears the H5N1 virus could
mutate into a highly contagious form that triggers the next human
flu pandemic.

A Chinese scientist said on Friday bird flu had been found in
pigs, which can also catch human flu and have been blamed for
passing it on to people in the past.

Disease outbreaks have frequently led to charges of cover-ups,
as governments from China and Thailand to Britain have struggled
to balance public safety with business and political interests
and a fear of public hysteria.

Bernama reported on Wednesday the government had directed
media not to report the "so-called bird flu outbreak" in Kelantan
state, around 250 km northeast of Kuala Lumpur.

Government officials denied issuing any such instruction but
media sources said this week editors had been told to play down
the story to avoid panic.

"We want to ensure the government is in control and we will
not hide anything," health minister Chua Soi Lekhe told
reporters. "The only confirmed case is the chickens."

Malaysian poultry farmers, banned from selling eggs and
poultry in their key export market of Singapore, said they would
lose up to 3 million ringgit ($790,000) a day.

Chicken dishes remain on sale in Malaysia, but restaurants say
sales are falling, despite government reassurances that cooked
poultry and eggs are safe.

"If you have (chicken) and don't want to eat it, please give
it to me," Chua said.