Bird flu back in West Java<\/p>\n
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung<\/p>\n
Bird flu has resurfaced in Indonesia, killing at least 21,000
\nchickens on farms in West Java over the last two months, an
\nofficial says.<\/p>\n
The head of farm animal health at the West Java Animal
\nHusbandry Office, Musni Suatmodjo, said on Wednesday avian
\ninfluenza, or bird flu, had spread to five regencies and
\nmunicipalities in the province.<\/p>\n
He identified them as Cirebon regency and municipality, Subang
\nregency, Indramayu regency and Sukabumi regency.<\/p>\n
Musni said Cirebon municipality had the most reported cases of
\nbird flu, with about 12,000 chickens killed by the H5n1 and H7n1
\nviruses.<\/p>\n
\"The affected area is smaller than last year. In early 2004,
\n(the bird flu) spread to 10 areas. We hope to reduce the number
\nof cases this year,\" he said in Bandung.<\/p>\n
According to the World Health Organization, avian influenza is
\nan infectious disease of birds caused by type A strains of the
\ninfluenza virus. The disease, which was first identified in Italy
\nmore than 100 years ago, occurs worldwide.<\/p>\n
Fifteen subtypes of influenza virus are known to infect birds,
\nbut to date all outbreaks of the highly pathogenic form have been
\ncaused by influenza A viruses of subtypes H5 and H7.<\/p>\n
Musni said that last year bird flu was reported in 10 areas in
\nWest Java and killed about 1.6 million of six million farmed
\nchickens in the province, or 25.3 percent.<\/p>\n
He said he was confident this year's bird flu outbreak would
\nbe less severe, maybe killing just 10 percent of farmed chickens
\nin the province.<\/p>\n
\"We have prepared 50 million doses of vaccine to stop the
\nspread of the virus in 2005,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The government only went public with last year's bird flu
\noutbreak after remaining silent for five months.<\/p>\n
Until it came out and publicly acknowledged the outbreak, the
\ngovernment was insisting the country was free of the disease,
\nwhich was first spotted on Aug. 29, 2003, in Pekalongan, Central
\nJava. The government had been blaming the deaths of thousands of
\nchickens across East Java and Bali on Newcastle disease, which is
\ncaused by a virus that is harmless to humans.<\/p>\n
According to estimates from the Food and Agriculture
\nOrganization (FAO) of the United Nations, which were announced
\nduring a recent 28-nation conference on bird flu in Vietnam, bird
\nflu cost Asian farmers and agricultural industries US$10 billion
\nin 2004.<\/p>\n
Vietnam has been hit hardest by this year's outbreak of the
\nvirus, which erupted across much of Asia at the end of 2003 and
\nhas killed 46 people -- 33 Vietnamese, 12 Thais and a Cambodian.
\nAlmost every person who has fallen ill with bird flu is known to
\nhave caught the virus from contact with sick birds.<\/p>\n
But according to the FAO, while Vietnam has borne the brunt of
\nthe recent outbreak, the H5N1 virus is now also endemic in
\nThailand, Indonesia and China.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bird-flu-back-in-west-java-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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