No new H5N1 locations in Kelantan

In a statement today, the department said 426 reared fowls and 463 eggs were culled yesterday and that the monitoring will be continued.

However, the statement did not name the locations of these fowls and eggs.

"As of yesterday, 28 locations in six districts have been confirmed to be positive for the H5N1 virus, namely Kota Bharu (with 14 locations), Pasir Mas (six), Tumpat (three), Tanah Merah (one), Bachok (one) and Pasir Puteh (three), involving 43 premises.

"A total of 31,353 fowls and 12,267 eggs have been destroyed. As many as 3,012 samples were taken from 502 owners," the statement said.

According to the statement, the epidemic had been brought under control within a 30km-radius of Kampung Pulau Tebu covering six districts affected by the H5N1 virus.

It also said that no commercial chicken rearing farms within a 10km-radius the disease was detected to have been affected and that additional measures have been taken to control it.

"The situation is under control and confined to the affected areas, involving only free-range chicken of small rearers, and roadblocks were set up to control the movement of fowls from Kelantan," it said.

"To date, there has been no cases of infection among humans and chicken meat and eggs which have been cooked are safe for consumption. The public is urged to report to the nearest Veterinary Department if there are instances of chicken death," the statement said.