Veterinary Dept can do more

I REFER to “Poultry sold here free from H5N1, says Vet Dept” ( The Star, Jan 6) in which Veterinary Services director-general Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz Jamaluddin was quoted as saying, “all chicken and duck meat and their eggs, whether sourced locally or imported are safe for consumption”.

He was also reported as saying that tests conducted on 15,401 poultry samples tested negative for the highly pathogenic avian influenza.

It is indeed reassuring that poultry tested here have been found free of the dreaded H5N1 strain of the Avian influenza virus. No doubt the Veterinary Services Department will be vigilant against infected poultry entering the country.

Avian influenza can be spread by infected wild free-flying migratory birds that freely cross national boundaries.

They do not pose a threat of infection to domestic poultry reared in closed poultry houses or in poultry houses that have been birdproofed with wire-netting.

These free-flying infected migratory birds do, however, pose a real threat of infection to poultry reared and fed in the open.

Infected wild migratory birds could be tempted to make a pitstop to partake of the food left in the open for these domestic poultry.

While so doing these infected birds could infect the food meant for the domestic poultry with their infected saliva and/or respiratory secretions.

To prevent this mode of transmission of the H5N1 virus into the country, all domestic poultry should be reared in closed poultry houses with forced draft ventilation or in “open” poultry houses that have been bird-proofed with chicken wire-mesh.

The Veterinary Services Department could provide plans for simple, low-cost, bird-proofed poultry sheds for smallscale backyard poultry farmers so that their poultry can be protected from infection by migratory birds.

It has been found that rearing poultry in closed poultry houses with evaporative cooling and forced draft ventilation is more profitable, as the temperature inside is thermostatically controlled and is kept cool, resulting in poultry that are more productive.

Besides protection from infected migratory birds there is no fly breeding nuisance in these closed houses as the poultry droppings are kept dry due to the constant flow of cool air through the poultry house. Fly breeding only occurs in wet poultry droppings. CONCERNED POULTRY CONSUMER, Kuala Lumpur.