In a statement issued here, the department said that the first round of inspection to detect existence of avian flu within a 10 KM radius of Baru Pasir Pekan Village in Tumpat, north state of Kelantan, where two cockerels tested positive for the virus two weeks ago, had been completed.

"Initial test results on the samples were negative and no HPAI (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza) virus was detected," the statement said.

The department said monitoring and inspection on poultry and pet birds nationwide would be continued.

After the occurrence of the bird flu case in the Kelantan village, a total of 352 poultry livestock like chickens, ducks andpet birds within one-KM radius around the village were exterminated to prevent the spread of the virus.

A 10 kilometer radius quarantine has also been imposed as a precautionary measure to check the bird flu. Some 2,000 samples from poultry livestock in the area have been tested and proven negative.

Meanwhile, the poultry farmers face losses of 1 million ringgit(263,157 US dollars) a day from the Singapore's ban on Malaysian chicken imports after bird flu was detected in Kelantan.

Hardest hit are the 500 farms in the southern and central states of Johor, Malacca, Negri Sembilan and Selangor, which normally export the bulk of the 130,000 live chickens and 2.3 million eggs to Singapore daily.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - 29th August 2004