No fear about dead birds, flu: AVA and NEA

Government surveillance plan ensures safety
Letter from AVA and NEA, Today Online 24 Jan 08;

Letter from Goh Shih Yong
Assistant Director, Corporate Communications, for CEO, AVA
and S Satish Appoo
Director, Environment Health Department, NEA

We refer to the letters, "When birds die mysteriously" (Jan 17), by Mr Chua Tee Lian and Mr Thomas Lee Zhi Zhi.

We assure the public that various Government agencies work closely together to minimise the bird flu risk through wild birds.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) has an ongoing surveillance programme to check for bird flu virus in the urban and wild bird population.

An emergency response plan is in place to deal with any suspected bird flu case.

It is not uncommon to find one or two dead birds in the environment as birds do die of natural causes such as old age, malnutrition or injuries from fighting.

As Singapore is free from bird flu, the public need not be alarmed if they come across one or two dead birds in public places.

However, as a precaution, the public is advised not touch any dead bird.

Rather, they should contact the National Environment Agency (NEA) for assistance to remove the dead birds.

In the case of the eagles, we regret the delay in getting the birds removed.

We have learnt from this experience and our agencies have taken steps to prevent such incidents.

The public can call the AVA (1800-476 1600) or NEA (1800-CALL NEA or 1800-225 5632) on any bird-related issues.

We thank the writers for their feedback.