Myanmar claiming bird flu free status
September 7th, 2006
After first declaring outbreaks of bird flu among its borders in March, Myanmar is now seeking to obtain a bird flu free status, after a program of detection spanned across three months has found no new case of the disease in the country. Although generally a highly secretive military-ruled country, foreign health experts were allowed in Myanmar to give assistance in fighting the much feared disease. Since the first documented case of avian influenza, thousands of chickens and quail from a few hundred farms were culled in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus. However, international organizations are now cautious to declare the country free of any trace of the virus, as examples from neighbouring countries such as Thailand, Cambodia and Laos show that the virus can easily re-emerge.