By Kantarawaddy Times
In eastern Dee Maw Hso Township, Karenni State, outbreaks of avian influenza continue to impact domestically raised chickens across several villages, with local sources reporting rising poultry fatalities.
“At first, the chickens exhibit signs of illness, including fever lasting two to three days. They eventually stop eating and then die. While some recover, many larger roosters and hens do not survive,” said one local resident.
He noted that some villages have been experiencing outbreaks since January, whereas in others, the disease has only emerged recently, resulting in significant chicken deaths this month.
“I believe the reason avian influenza continues to spread over time is due to poor poultry farming practices—for example, free-range systems that make it difficult to control disease. When it comes to vaccination, one of the challenges is that not all chickens can be caught and vaccinated. That’s why the most fundamental aspect of poultry farming is what we call ‘biosecurity.’ Only after that should vaccination and treatment follow. Therefore, I would like to advise both local residents and displaced persons affected by avian influenza to adopt systematic and proper poultry farming methods,” said a representative from the Livestock and Veterinary Department of the Interim Executive Council (IEC).
Such avian influenza outbreaks have become a recurring problem for both locals and displaced families who raise chickens for subsistence, resulting in annual losses. In the eastern part of Dee Maw Hso Township, there is currently a lack of trained veterinary professionals and no consistent vaccine distribution for poultry.
According to the Livestock and Veterinary Department of the Karenni Interim Executive Council (IEC), they are currently only able to provide vaccinations for three types of animals: chickens, pigs, and dogs. In Dee Baw Khu and Loi Lin Lay townships, around 5,000 chickens have received vaccinations. Meanwhile, vaccination efforts for buffaloes and cows are also ongoing.
