Sally Furniss
Well-known member
Poultry sellers suffer after bird flu outbreaks in Myanmar
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070304/hl_afp/healthflumyanmar
YANGON (AFP) - Poultry sellers in Yangon on Sunday reported a slump in sales following a fresh outbreak of bird flu, and said they were ready to close their markets as part of government efforts to contain the virus.
Officials in military-run Myanmar on Friday confirmed that the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza had been found on a farm in the nation's biggest city, leaving consumers wary about consuming poultry.
"My chicken sales are down about 30 percent," said Tun Tun, a 26-year-old chicken seller at a small market in downtown Yangon.
"Some customers don't want to touch the chicken. They don't even want to walk by my shop," he told AFP.
An official at Yangon's largest poultry market said that chicken sales had halved since the official announcement.
"Within two days poultry sales declined about 50 percent because of bird flu," said the senior official, who wished to remain anonymous because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
"People are afraid because dead birds have been found," he said, adding that domestic chicken prices had fallen from 4,200 kyats (3.4 dollars) per viss (1.6 kilograms) to 3,200 kyats (2.6 dollars) within two days.
The official told AFP that his poultry market was ready to shut down on the government's orders, and said that about 30 chicken markets had been closed near the Yangon suburbs where bird flu was discovered.
Government mouthpiece the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said Saturday that 92 chickens and ducks in four Yangon townships had tested positive for the H5N1 strain, and urged the public to report any dead birds.
It said authorities were spraying pesticide to contain the virus, but did not reveal how many birds had been culled. A livestock official told AFP last week that 1,500 birds had been killed.
The semi-official Myanmar Times newspaper reported Sunday that the livestock and veterinary department was restricting the transport of poultry and quarantining areas around the outbreaks.
Authorities have said they believe wild birds may have carried the H5N1 virus to poultry farms, but dead crows, owls and sparrows found in Yangon have all tested negative for bird flu.
Myanmar had declared itself bird-flu free in September last year, after months without any new cases following an outbreak around the central city of Mandalay in March 2006.
The H5N1 virus has killed around 167 people across the world since late 2003 through contact with infected birds, although no human cases have been detected in Myanmar.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070304/hl_afp/healthflumyanmar
YANGON (AFP) - Poultry sellers in Yangon on Sunday reported a slump in sales following a fresh outbreak of bird flu, and said they were ready to close their markets as part of government efforts to contain the virus.
Officials in military-run Myanmar on Friday confirmed that the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza had been found on a farm in the nation's biggest city, leaving consumers wary about consuming poultry.
"My chicken sales are down about 30 percent," said Tun Tun, a 26-year-old chicken seller at a small market in downtown Yangon.
"Some customers don't want to touch the chicken. They don't even want to walk by my shop," he told AFP.
An official at Yangon's largest poultry market said that chicken sales had halved since the official announcement.
"Within two days poultry sales declined about 50 percent because of bird flu," said the senior official, who wished to remain anonymous because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
"People are afraid because dead birds have been found," he said, adding that domestic chicken prices had fallen from 4,200 kyats (3.4 dollars) per viss (1.6 kilograms) to 3,200 kyats (2.6 dollars) within two days.
The official told AFP that his poultry market was ready to shut down on the government's orders, and said that about 30 chicken markets had been closed near the Yangon suburbs where bird flu was discovered.
Government mouthpiece the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said Saturday that 92 chickens and ducks in four Yangon townships had tested positive for the H5N1 strain, and urged the public to report any dead birds.
It said authorities were spraying pesticide to contain the virus, but did not reveal how many birds had been culled. A livestock official told AFP last week that 1,500 birds had been killed.
The semi-official Myanmar Times newspaper reported Sunday that the livestock and veterinary department was restricting the transport of poultry and quarantining areas around the outbreaks.
Authorities have said they believe wild birds may have carried the H5N1 virus to poultry farms, but dead crows, owls and sparrows found in Yangon have all tested negative for bird flu.
Myanmar had declared itself bird-flu free in September last year, after months without any new cases following an outbreak around the central city of Mandalay in March 2006.
The H5N1 virus has killed around 167 people across the world since late 2003 through contact with infected birds, although no human cases have been detected in Myanmar.