Myanmar continues to monitor possible bird-flu-virus-carrying migratory bird

The Myanmar livestock authorities continued to monitor possible bird-flu-virus carrying migratory bird touching down on a lake in Shwebo, the country's northern Mandalay division, in a bid to prevent reoccurrence of the avian influenza in the country, the local Yangon Times reported Thursday.

Staff are being mobilized to observe the status of the birds resting on the Maha Nanda Lake which are found to have flown into Myanmar's territory over the past week, the report said, adding that breeding of livestocks has been banned in the region and such undertakings have been moved to other areas to keep home-bred livestocks out of access to such migratory birds.

Although bird flu has been brought under control in Myanmar but it is difficult to deal with the migratory birds which are moving about and any reoccurrence of the avian influenza is possible, livestock officials were quoted as saying.

There exists two channels for migratory birds to fly into Myanmar across the country's northernmost Kachin state and western coastal Rakhine state to rest on the Indawgyi Lake and Inle Lake and such birds from different regions across the world used to fly over Myanmar territory during the winter season period between November and February, especially December.

Migratory birds movement is considered as having the possibility of carrying deadly H5N1 virus from one place to another and alert is so heightened as it has entered into the cold season.

Myanmar declared in September this year as a bird-flu-free country after confirming that no virus had been present in the country during a three-month program on detection of avian influenza carried out with the cooperation of foreign experts.

Myanmar was struck by an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu on March 8 in two divisions of Mandalay and Sagaing and since then altogether 342,000 chickens, 320,000 quails and 180,000 eggs as well as 1.3 tons of feedstuff were destroyed at 545 poultry farms.

Source: Xinhua