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Bird Flu Watch: 16 warded in Sungai Buloh hospital given the all clear

By Annie Freeda Cruez and David Yeow

12 June, 2007

My recent personal conclusion is that many of these people are

 

BIRD FLU WATCH: Five warded for observation 

KUALA LUMPUR, Tues:

A husband and wife were among five latest admissions to hospitals for observation against the bird flu after having fever and coming into contact with dead chicken.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said the couple, aged 53 and 45 from Felda Selanca 5, Rompin had been admitted to the isolation ward at the Segamat Hospital, Johor.

“They were found to be suffering from fever, cold and cough on June 5 and had come into contact with dead chicken when they buried the fowl at their farm in Kampung Tok Cik Dol, Tanah Merah, Kelantan,” he said in a statement, here today.

He said that besides the couple, two siblings aged one-year-and-nine-months and 10 months from Jalan Gambang, Kuantan were also admitted to the Kuantan Hospital for observation yesterday after suffering from fever, cough and cold.

They were admitted to hospital as one of their elder brothers had come into contact with dead chicken at their house, he said.
Dr Chua said an 11-year-old boy was also admitted to the Sungai Buloh Hospital yesterday after being referred to the hospital by a private clinic in Sungai Buloh.

“All the patients are in stable condition,” he said.

The minister said that as of yesterday, the five were among the 21 cases under investigation at isolation wards at hospitals in several states.

“Sixteen of them had been confirmed negative of the Avian Influenza virus,” he added.

He said cumulatively, 768 homes had been visited and 4,608 residents of Kampung Paya Jaras Hilir, Sungai Buloh had been interviewed and examined as of yesterday since the Avian Influenza viral infection among chicken was detected in the area on June 5.

All the houses and residents concerned were located within 300 metres of the affected area.

Meanwhile, the Veterinary Services Department (JPH) said in a separate statement that investigation carried out at a farm in Kampung Padang Mukim Gajah, Kedah where 30 chicken were reported to have died since last month revealed that they were not infected by the H5N1 virus. The test was confirmed on June 9 by the Veterniary Research Institute (VRI) Ipoh.

In addition, a VRI test on two ducks that died at Kampung Lembah Harapan, Seberang Takir, Kuala Terengganu also proved that the ducks were free of the H5N1 virus.

The JPH said it had also traced the latest case of four fighting cocks that died at the Block Q, PKNS Flat, Keramat here yesterday. They were also found to be free of the H5N1 virus.

I think it could go h2h anytime. It is spreading within small family clusters already but not much further than that. Although it has been doing this for some time; nothing new.

Last Updated 13/06/2007, 01:56:07

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http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/962914/11_certified_free_of_avian_flu_virus/index.html?source=r_health and at http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/National/20070610074435/Article

11 Certified Free of Avian Flu Virus

SERDANG: All 11 people hospitalised for having flu symptoms in the last few days have been confirmed to be free of bird flu which broke out among chickens in a village in Sungai Buloh, Selangor, earlier this week.

They included three people who were admitted to hospital on Friday night. Six of them were discharged yesterday.

The Health Ministry said the patients had been placed in an isolation ward since Thursday as a precaution against the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus.

Deputy director-general of Health Datuk Dr Ramlee Rahmat yesterday said none had been infected with the virus.

Those discharged were four patients from the Sungai Buloh hospital and two brothers in Kedah.

"The rest are in stable condition and would be discharged soon," Dr Ramlee said.

He was speaking after opening the Ninth Prostar Colloquium and Convention here on behalf of Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.

Dr Ramlee said the admission of two cases to the Sungai Buloh Hospital on Friday brought the number there to seven.

There were two cases in Malacca, including a patient admitted on Friday night and two young brothers in Kedah.

The bird flu outbreak was detected by health officials on June 2 following the death of 67 chickens at Kampung Paya Jaras Hilir in Sungai Buloh.

Health officers carried out checks on 768 households and 4,608 villagers. Chickens within a one-kilometre radius were culled.

In Shah Alam, Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo said he had instructed the Veterinary Services Department to ensure that all poultry farmers used the "closed system," where birds are housed in closed and covered facilities.

"This system is safer, cleaner and cheaper in the long run," he said.

Dr Khir called on the Department to come up with guidelines for the public to rear chicken.

(c) 2007 New Straits Times. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

[What is going on??? One article says basically all clear, another is posting new outbreaks, help, is someone not being truthful?!!!!

http://www.avianflutalk.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=16956&KW=Malaysia

June 15th seems to be contained bird flu announcement day for Burma and Malaysia....True or False

Malaysia says has contained bird flu outbreak

15 Jun 2007 09:43:56 GMT   Source: Reuters
By Naveen Thukral and Liau Y-Sing

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia, June 15 (Reuters) - Malaysia has contained a bird flu outbreak and no new cases have been reported after the nation last week found its first infection in village chickens in a year, a top veterinary official said.

Malaysia has reported no human cases of H5N1 infection, but last Wednesday's incident on the capital's doorstep prompted a ban on poultry imports by neighbours Singapore and Indonesia.

"Everything is under control. It has been successfully contained," said Kamarudin Mohamad Isa, head of disease control at Malaysia's veterinary services department.

"Based on our monitoring of the surrounding areas and nationwide, there is no evidence of infection so far and we can say that it is well contained," he told Reuters on Friday.

The outbreak of the H5N1 virus pulled down the shares of Malaysian poultry and fast food firms Leong Hup Holdings Bhd, Farm's Best Bhd and KFC Holdings.

But the official said there was no impact on domestic poultry consumption and exports were not hit.

"It's business as usual and the movement between states is still OK," he said in an interview in the Malaysian administrative capital of Putrajaya. "Singapore is still importing chicken and ducks from all states except Selangor."

He said the authorities had not found any cases of the virus among chickens and ducks within a 10-km (6-mile) radius of the village of Paya Jaras Hilir in central Selangor state.

"But we still continuously monitor the situation. So we will do a second round of surveillance within three weeks."

Malaysia will ask the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare it free of the H5N1 virus if no new cases are detected within two weeks, state news agency Bernama quoted the Malaysian health minister as saying.

"We can say that we are free but WHO has to be convinced," Chua Soi Lek told reporters.

Malaysia has tightened checks at the country's entry points, with veterinary officials searching cars and buses for birds as the virus originated elsewhere, Kamarudin said.

"Illegal smuggling we cannot do much (about), but hopefully we can reduce," he added.

The disease is endemic in bird populations in most parts of Indonesia, where millions of backyard fowl are kept in close proximity to humans and education campaigns often do not reach more remote areas.

Jakarta reported its 80th human death from bird flu on Thursday. The World Health Organisation says H5N1 has infected more than 300 people in 12 countries, many of whom have died since the disease re-emerged in Asia in late 2003.

Most human cases have involved people who have had contact with infected fowl. Experts fear if the virus mutates into a form that allows easy human-to-human transmission, it could trigger a pandemic that could kill millions around the world.
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Originally posted by Pebbles23

      
Saturday June 16, 2007
Move for bird flu-free status in two weeks

PETALING JAYA: If there are no more cases of the H5N1 virus in two weeks, Malaysia will submit a report to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and seek its approval to declare the country free of the avian flu.

"However, it is still up to WHO to process the report and scrutinise the findings before we can be truly considered H5N1 virus-free," said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.

He said the avian flu threat in Kampung Paya Jaras Hilir near here might have passed but the Government was taking no chances.

The ministry would continue to monitor the area, he told a press conference after opening the Malaysian Dental Association's annual general meeting yesterday.

The minister said there had been no reports in the past two days of residents falling ill or showing symptoms of cough or fever.

"This is definitely a very good sign. We will continue to monitor the area, especially within a 300m radius of the point of the virus origin," he added.

"But in the meantime, all culling and case detection activities (door-to-door interviewing) have stopped."

Dr Chua said it was important to now focus on the well-being of the 70 health and veterinary officers who had been at the village for the past week.

"They are undergoing medical check-ups to ensure they have a clean bill of health," he said.