KOTA BARU: A total of 227 birds or 80 per cent of birds in Kampung Pulau Tebu in Tunjong here have been culled and 253 eggs destroyed since the avian flu H5N1 was detected in the village on Feb 28.
State Agriculture, Agro-based Industry and Bio-technology committee chairman Datuk Che Abdullah Mat Nawi said the Veterinary Department is expecting the culling exercise to be completed by Saturday.
He said flu has been confirmed to be limited to the village alone and the last case reported was on March 2.
“The culling is done at night as most home owners are working during the day and it is easier to catch the birds at that time. Birds located high up on the trees are shot,” he said.
Abdullah said apart from home-grown chicken, other birds culled included geese, pigeons and guinea fowl.
He said the various departments involved have also taken immediate measures including the police, in setting up road blocks within a 1km radius of the village and also at the border of Kelantan and other states to ensure that no birds were taken out of the state.
Abdullah said all vehicles leaving the village were disinfected to make certain the virus will not spread to other places.
“Health teams from the district health office have gone down to meet residents within 300m of the affected homes to ensure none is down with fever or flu. So far, all the results are negative,” he said.