Myanmar reports another bird flu outbreak
YANGON, March 21 (Reuters) - Myanmar reported another outbreak of bird flu on Wednesday, saying a chicken farm had been hit outside Yangon, where the H5N1 virus reappeared in four areas last month.
The government, in an announcement published in state newspapers, said more than 20,000 chickens had been slaughtered on the farm in Hmawbi township, about 40 km (25 miles) north of the capital.
The movement of poultry within a radius of 6 km had been banned and chickens within 1 km of the outbreak would be killed, it said.
The outbreaks on the outskirts of Yangon last month were Myanmar's first since March last year and the country has reported no human cases.
The World Health Organisation says the virus has killed 169 people since 2003 and experts fear it could mutate into a form that could jump easily between people, which now it cannot, and cause a pandemic.
