The current outbreak in Kelantan does not have any impact on Singapore’s poultry and egg supply as the country only allows imports of poultry and eggs from the disease-free zones in Malaysia – Johor, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Selangor and Perak.

It does not import poultry and eggs from Kelantan as it is not an approved source.

AVA will continue to work closely with Malaysia’s DVS to ensure that poultry and eggs imported do not compromise public and animal health.

Measures to keep out bird flu

Nevertheless, in response to the outbreak of bird flu in Kelantan, AVA has stepped up existing measures to prevent the incursion of the disease.

The existing measures include:

• Importing live birds, poultry and poultry products only from bird flu-free countries and zones
• Conducting inspection and sampling on imported live poultry and poultry products at points of entry and poultry slaughterhouses
• Ensuring that local poultry farms and slaughterhouses implement biosecurity measures
• Conducting regular inspection and surveillance at local poultry farms, slaughterhouses and pet bird shops
• Conducting regular checks and surveillance on migratory birds as well as common birds such as crows, mynahs and pigeons
• Monitoring of free-range chickens

AVA has increased surveillance and inspections at various entry points to prevent the incursion of the disease.

It has also alerted local poultry farms to beef up biosecurity measures, such as not allowing non-essential visits to the farms and ensuring that their bird-proofing measures are intact.

While Singapore is free from bird flu, AVA will continue to monitor the situation, and work with stakeholders to prevent bird flu outbreaks in Singapore.