YANGON (AFP) - Down a dirt road in a northeastern Yangon suburb, a large barn stands empty but for white feathers and piles of chicken excrement that hint at its former occupants.

The owners hide behind a locked red gate, shaking their heads and refusing to answer questions.

But nearby residents here in Mayangone Township say these farmers lost everything when officials in protective clothing came and killed all their chickens.

This is the site of Myanmar´s first bird flu outbreak this year, and for once the secretive junta is winning praise from the international community for their response to the potential disaster.

Authorities in this military-run country have confirmed five outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus across Yangon since February 28, and have killed nearly 45,000 birds in an attempt to contain the disease.

"I think they are handling it quite professionally. It is the only advantage of this type of regime, if they decide to seal off, they can be quite efficient," said one Yangon-based diplomat.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation last month hailed the government´s response as "quick and effective," and the United States, usually quick to criticise Myanmar, gave the regime 600,000 dollars to help fight bird flu.

The livestock department has set up a strict monitoring system, and banned the movement of poultry, eggs and animal feed in affected areas.

A resident living near the first outbreak site described how health officials in protective suits and masks, accompanied by military personnel, came to the small city farm and took away two truckloads of chickens.

"They just said ´this is an outbreak area´," the resident told AFP. "At first I worried that I would be infected, but now nothing has happened."

Since the outbreak, health officials have returned and educated local residents about prevention of bird flu and kept the area under surveillance.

"After the outbreak I didn´t eat chicken. The authorities closed the nearby markets. They don´t sell chicken anywhere," the resident added.

At nearby Nandawon market, legs of mutton hang from hooks and flies buzz around piles of offal, but there is not an egg or a chicken to be seen. Posters at the entrance warn people to beware of chicken excrement.

Myo Myint Aung, a 37-year-old poultry vendor, said that market officials came to him on March 3 and told him to stop selling chicken.

"Now I just sell fish and other things. My income decreased about 70 percent," he said, adding that he understood why the authorities took the drastic action.

"It is a natural disaster, so that´s why we understand," he said. "We are the first ones who can die, we are very close with the birds."

The World Health Organisation website reports that 170 people have died of the human strain of bird flu since 2003, most of them in Southeast Asia. No human cases or deaths have yet been reported in Myanmar.

The last avian flu scare here was in March 2006, when more than 100 outbreaks were reported in the central city of Mandalay. After killing 660,000 birds, authorities last September declared the country free of bird flu.

Kyaw Nyunt Sein, deputy director general of the health ministry, said no human cases had been discovered since the Yangon outbreaks.

"We started monitoring about 1,137 people who were in contact with birds," he said in a recent interview in the administrative capital Naypyidaw.

"About 371 people are still under surveillance. So far we haven´t seen any positive cases," he said.

One UN official in Myanmar said he was impressed with the regime´s transparency over bird flu, but said a human outbreak would be a disaster in a country where the health system is in tatters after decades of underfunding.

"If you look at the infrastructure that exists, if human cases broke out it would be more difficult than in many other countries in the region," he said. "It would be close to impossible to contain."

Despite some gloomy predictions, people out and about in affected areas seem unconcerned, with many asking chicken vendors when they will be able to buy the meat again.

"We have not seen any human cases so we are not afraid at all. For us, we get upset when we see it -- seeing is believing," said one jewelry seller perched behind rows of gold at Nandawon market.