Govt sounds alert on bird flu recurrence<\/p>\n
Tony Hotland, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government has warned that the country's poultry industry is
\nstill vulnerable to avian influenza, even though no new
\nindication of a reoccurrence of the disease has been spotted.<\/p>\n
Minister of Agriculture Bungaran Saragih affirmed on Tuesday
\nthat as yet there were no new signs of the disease -- popularly
\nknown as bird flu -- but urged the country's poultry breeders to
\nbe cautious.<\/p>\n
\"There are no signs detected yet, but we must stay alert,
\nespecially when the wet season approaches ... the last outbreak
\nalso occurred during the wet season,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Poultry scientists have said that the H5N1 strain, the most
\nlethal strain of bird flu, mutates rapidly, particularly in cold
\nweather.<\/p>\n
Bungaran said that the government would maintain its current
\nmeasures to prevent the disease from attacking the country again,
\nsuch as by regular vaccination and a ban on poultry products from
\nabroad.<\/p>\n
The minister was responding to recent reports of a possible
\nnew outbreak of the disease in Vietnam and Thailand, worst hit
\nduring the outbreak earlier this year.<\/p>\n
The two countries were the first areas where the bird flu
\nepidemic was initially detected late last year, resulting in the
\ndeath of at least 24 people and the culling of millions of
\nchickens across southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
No human victims were reported in Indonesia, but at least 4.7
\nmillion chickens were slaughtered to prevent the further spread
\nof the disease.<\/p>\n
Bungaran added that the government spent up to Rp 70 billion
\n(US$7.77 million) on vaccine and public service announcements in
\nthe mass media.<\/p>\n
The government previously promised to allocate around Rp 212
\nbillion in vaccine and compensation for small farmers whose
\npoultry had to be destroyed as part of a selective culling
\nprogram.<\/p>\n
\"The poultry industry is still vulnerable because the virus
\ncan strike again. It will take a clear period of three years
\nsince the occurrence of the last case before we can announce to
\nthe public that we are completely free of the disease,\" Bungaran
\nadded.<\/p>\n
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the H5N1
\nstrain has the potential to kill millions of people if it
\ncombined with a human influenza virus to create a new, highly
\ncontagious strain transmissible among humans.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, chairman of the Indonesian Poultry Breeders
\nAssociation Anton J. Supit said that Thailand's fresh ban on
\npoultry imports from Indonesia would not have a serious impact.<\/p>\n
\"We neither export nor import chickens to a significant
\ndegree. Almost all production is for domestic demand. Even if we
\ndid, it would be a very small percentage,\" he told The Jakarta
\nPost.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-sounds-alert-on-bird-flu-recurrence-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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