Mizzima News

New Delhi (Mizzima) – India's northeastern state of Mizoram has banned import of livestock and poultry from Burma as a precaution against bird flu virus spreading to the state, which has a long and porous border with military-ruled Burma.

Dr. Sai Ngura, Joint-director of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department of Mizoram state on Wednesday told Mizzima that the Mizoram government since January 1, had prohibited import of livestock from Burma and Bangladesh to prevent the spread of the deadly H5N1 viruses, which are often detected in both countries.

"It was a precautionary measure along the border with Burma and Bangladesh where bird flu has been detected over the last two years. The flu occurs because these two countries are not well organized like India," Dr. Sai Ngura said.

The ban on import of animals and poultry in Mizoram came after the deadly virus was reportedly detected in neighbouring state of Assam in November 2008.

"After the bird flu out break in Assam state in November, we took preventive measures in our borders," Dr. Sai Ngura said, adding that the Mizoram government has sealed all borders including state and international boundaries from import of bird and other poultry products including eggs.

However, a local resident of Saiha district in Mizoram said despite the ban, poultry products such as chicken and eggs from Burma are continuing to be sold in the local market.

"So far, chickens from Burma are still selling in the local market in Saiha," the local said.

But Dr. Sai Ngura said, while chickens and poultry products that were imported earlier are allowed to be sold, new imports have been effectively banned and that the ban will continue until further notice was given by the central government.

"The ban will continue until the central government directs us to lift it," he added.

Mizoram shares a porous border of 404 kilometers with Burma's northwestern Chin state and with the people sharing almost a similar culture, language and custom, there is regular cross border interaction including trade and interactive human relationships.

In the second week of December, authorities culled around 200 chickens in poultry farms near Burma's new jungle capital city of Naypyitaw, after detecting a new disease among chicken.

Burma's ministry of veterinary and animal husbandry believes the symptoms to be of a new and strange disease known as Viscero Tropic Velogenic (VVNT), where the chicken or birds died of pain in the neck.

But some experts said it is a symptom of the deadly avian flu.