PING LONG - Myanmar Travel and Tour Agent Information

MYANMAR continues to remain free of the bird flu outbreak that has wreaked havoc in the poultry industry in other Asia countries, the director of the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department, Dr Than Htun, said last week.

He dismissed rumours about an outbreak of the disease at a poultry farm at Hmawbi, about 30 miles north of Yangon, saying tests on birds that had died at the farm early this month showed they had contracted Newcastle disease.

He said a bird flu precaution committee formed on January 24 had inspected more than seven million birds at about 6000 poultry farms up until February 19.

The department had also begun issuing health certificates since February 9 to businesses that supply day-old chickens to poultry farms and some broiler farmers had been reluctant to buy chickens before the certificates were introduced.　

In another precautionary move, veterinarians from the Yangon City Development Committee are inspecting birds sold at the Central Poultry Market in Mingalar Taung Nyunt township.

SOURCE: Excerpts & articles from the Myanmar Times