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.