There is no outbreak of bird flu so far on the Myanmar side of the Myanmar-Thai border areas, said an administrative official with the Ministry of Livestock Breeding and Fisheries Monday.

"No information is received yet about the outbreak from responsible departments monitoring such eventuality", the official told Xinhua via telephone.

However, alert against such probable outbreak is always kept in the wake of persistent presence of the virus and fresh outbreak in countries including neighbors, he noted.

Meanwhile, the Myanmar authorities have reiterated its warning against migratory wild birds flying into its territory especially its tourist sites such as Inle Lake in southern part of Shan state and Indawgyi Lake, Moein region in northernmost Kachin state and western coastal Rakhine state's Budidaung and Maungtaw as part of its bid in prevention against bird flu spreading outside Myanmar.

The authorities also warned livestock breeders there to keep their home-bred livestock out of access to such migratory birds, which probably carry bird flu virus, advising them to report immediately if there is such suspected case found.

The authorities have also called for keeping awareness about the modes of infection of the avian influenza and intensifying precautionary and educational measures to prevent any occurrence in humans and birds.

Since renewed outbreak of bird flu in some Southeast Asian countries was reported in September 2004, Myanmar has stepped up precautionary measures against the disease which include alerting farmers to report any unusual increase in mortality rate among poultry.

There are 63 million chickens in Myanmar, of which 50 million are bred outdoor in rural areas.

Meanwhile, Myanmar joined in signing in last November a declaration on partnership in combating avian influenza and other infectious diseases at the Second Ayayawaddy-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACES) Summit held in Bangkok, Thailand.

Source: Xinhua