Myanmar denies small pox outbreak in western state

[Snowy Owl]

Myanmar denies small pox outbreak in western state
http://english.people.com.cn/200706/06/eng20070606_381391.html​

Myanmar has denied that there was outbreak of small pox in the western coastal state of Rakhine recently as reported by some foreign media.

"Health workers in Rakhine state have conducted house-to-house visits to the areas in the Rakhine state but until now they have not found a single case of small pox," the official newspaper New Light of Myanmar Wednesday quoted a statement of the Ministry of Health as saying.

Health workers are on alert and have kept on close watch on the disease in Maungtaw and Buthidaung townships in the state, the report said, adding that screening of passengers at border check points is underway.

Following recent Indian media reports that small pox broke out in Myanmar and Bangladesh, the World Health Organization country office has sent a mission to find out the veracity of the reports, discovering that 16 children in Nyila, Cox Bazar and Taknuf areas of Bangladesh bordering Myanmar's Maungtaw had fever and blisters, according to the paper.

However, those Indian media reports put on internet did not confirm if the disease is small pox or something else, the paper added.

Small pox is claimed to have been eradicated from the world since 1970.
Source: Xinhua