Malaysia raises alert as bird flu virus hits more birds
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysian authorities raised an alert for a northeastern state after the virulent H5N1 bird flu virus was found to have spread to poultry in more villages.
Some 24,000 birds have been culled in Kelantan state since the H5N1 strain was reported March 6 after several backyard poultry died.
Che Abdullah Mat Nawi, who heads Kelantan’s agricultural committee, said Thursday that free-range chickens reared by residents in 20 villages have been affected. He said the state is getting more manpower and resources to survey a wider area to contain the spread of the virus.
“The situation is getting more serious but it is not yet an emergency situation as there is no transmission of the virus from bird to human. We have raised the alert so that we can pool resources from different departments” to curb the spread of the virus, he told The Associated Press.