Myanmar slaughters over 400,000 birds

Myanmar reported bird flu in chickens in central Mandalay in March and immediately banned all trade in chicken, ducks and eggs.

Myanmar has slaughtered more than 400,000 birds following its first bird flu outbreak last month, with the government claiming the deadly virus had been contained, state media said on Tuesday.

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The military-run country reported bird flu in chickens in the central city of Mandalay in March and immediately banned all trade in chicken, ducks and eggs there.

Since the outbreak, health authorities have killed more than 200,000 chickens and 200,000 quail in the city, 700 kilometres north of Yangon, the state-run Mirror Daily said.

"At this time, the government has contained a possible threat of the virus in the area," the paper said.

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization sent bird flu experts to help Myanmar, one of the world's most isolated nations, cope with the outbreak.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed more than 100 people worldwide since 2003, mostly in Asia, according to WHO figures.