Deputy director, Dr Ahmad Shafri Hassan, said the disease had infected fowl in several areas of Kuala Terengganu, according to New Straits Times, citing a report in Bernama.

"We advise chicken breeders in areas still free of the disease to have their livestock vaccinated," he said.

Thousands of chicken in the district have died of the blight in the last week, causing the breeders to lose more than 100,000 ringgit (MYR).

Dr Ahmad Shafri said that many breeders had stopped vaccinating their chicken because the disease had not occurred for a long time.

Terengganu Breeders Association secretary, Ibrahim Abdul Rahman, said that blight normally followed a flood.

He said the association had asked breeders in villages not affected by the disease to contact the veterinary office to help them protect their poultry.