Malaysia reports H5N1 bird flu outbreak

Malaysia has reported an outbreak of the highly contagious H5N1 bird flu virus on a farm in the eastern region of Sabah, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said on Monday, citing a report from Malaysia’s veterinary authorities.

The virus killed 3,000 out of 28,000 egg-laying chickens on the farm in Kampung Kauluan and all of the remaining birds were slaughtered, the Paris-based OIE said in an website alert, Reuters reported.

The outbreak marked the first case of highly pathogenic bird flu in Sabah, a region located on the island of Borneo, the OIE said.