(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-11-24 14:49

Yangon -- The Myanmar authorities have culled undisclosed number of chickens at a village farm in eastern Shan state of the country following the detection of a new bird flu case in the area, said an official statement Saturday.

Other measures of disinfecting of the farm, restriction of transport of chicken and biosecurity were also taken after unusual deaths of indigenous chicken in a village in Kengtung of the state were found on November 18, said a statement of the Myanmar Livestock and Veterinary Department.

The statement urged the people to prevent the entry of poultry and birds from neighboring countries into Myanmar.

Some poultry farms in the country's Mandalay and Sagaing divisions were first struck by an outbreak of HPA1 and H5N1 virus in February and March last year, some in Yangon division in February and March this year, some in Mon state's Thanbyuzayat and western Bago division's Letpadan in July and some in eastern Bago division's Thanatpin in October this year.

Again in October this year, H5 antigen was found at a poultry farm in Yangon division's Hmawby township with no symptom of bird flu detected.

During 2006's first outbreak of bird flu cases in the two divisions of Mandalay and Sagaing, 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, official statistics show.

During this year's outbreak of the disease from February 28 to March 31 at seven poultry farms in Yangon's five townships -- Mayangon, Hlaingtharya, North Okkalapa, Mingaladon and Hmawby, nearly 2,000 fowls died of the virus with 65,812 poultry from the affected farms and those nearby culled.

In July this year's occurrence of the H5N1, all chickens of the two farms in Thanbyuzayat and about 4,000 broilers raising at a poultry farm in Letpadan, totaling over 5,000, were culled for risk prevention under then Early Detection and Containment Program.

In the fight against the disease, Myanmar has been cooperating with experts from the Food and Agriculture Organization and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

According to the Myanmar authorities, no human cases have so far been detected with bird flu virus in Yangon.