Pahang declared free of H5N1 disease

KUANTAN: Pahang has been declared free of avian flu ( H5N1) disease after the results of tests on 859 samples taken by the State Veterinary Services Department were found negative.

State Rural Development, Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Committee chairman Datuk Shafik Fauzan Sharif said the samples were taken from 93 poultry slaughterhouses in the state following the H5N1 outbreak in Kelantan recently.

“We have taken samples of ducks and chickens including free-range and wild chickens for laboratory tests and the results obtained from March 16 showed that the animals were free of the H5N1 disease.

“As such we can declare that Pahang is free from the disease,” he told reporters after opening the briefing on Animal Welfare Act 2015 for Veterinary Services Department staff and related agencies here yesterday.

He said the state government was finalising a draft on poultry slaughterhouse rules to ensure slaughterhouse operators in Pahang abide by hygienic conditions of the slaughtering process. — Bernama