Reporter - Yuzana Ko Ko
Yangon, 15 October

People should look out for the birds infected with H5N1 virus which can cause avian influenza as migratory birds are expected to come into Myanmar earlier than usual this year, officials from the Ministry of Health in Nay Pyi Daw and Myanmar Bird Watchers Association said.

Some migratory birds flying into Myanmar from the northern region outside the country have a tendency to carry H5N1 virus and they have been a cause for concern for a number of years now. Suspected cases of bird flu occurred in Myanmar in 2006 and 2007. Experts warn the poultry farmers to be vigilant as the H5N1 virus is highly contagious.

It is imperative to take extra precautions against the spread of the disease as there were human fatalities because of the bird flu outbreak in Indonesia, a South East Asian country, although there have not been any recorded cases of bird to human infection in Myanmar.

"There are not a lot of public announcements about avian influenza lately. We have toned down the publicity drive as there have been no new occurrences for a while. But we should be watchful from now on as migratory birds are coming back," Deputy Director-General Dr San Shwe Win of Ministry of Health in Nay Pyi Daw told 7Day News Journal by phone.

"We have to be on our guard once again about another outbreak of bird flu because migratory birds will come back shortly. People here are forgetting the danger since there is no H5N1 virus in the country now. The virus can be spread by not only by migratory birds but also by other factors as well. People should be careful about the migratory birds as well as stay away from the habitats of these birds," Chairman of Myanmar Bird Watchers Association U Soe Nyunt said.

The migratory birds that will start flying in this month are coming from the Himalayas mountain range. There are eight flight ways for migratory birds and two of them go though Myanmar, one from north to south and another from south to north.

Source : 7Day News Journal, 25 October 2007