Limited response to bird flu derided by veterinarians<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta\/Surabaya<\/p>\n
Although the President has instructed a selective cull of all
\nchickens infected by bird flu, veterinarians here maintained that
\nonly a mass cull of all chickens would be effective in fending
\noff an uncontrollable outbreak of bird flu in the country.<\/p>\n
The belated decision issued on Wednesday by President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri was a sigh of relief for the Jakarta office of the
\nWorld Health Organization (WHO).<\/p>\n
However, deputy dean of the Bogor Institute of Agriculture's
\nSchool of Veterinary Studies, Wayan Teguh Wibawan, said a mass
\ncull would be the most effective measure, despite predicted
\nlosses from destroying the country's population of 135 million
\nchickens.<\/p>\n
Other veterinarians have raised similar views.<\/p>\n
The government, Wayan added, \"should make a guideline to
\nhandle the outbreak of the bird flu and build inter-department
\ncoordination for this purpose.\"<\/p>\n
The government has stopped well short of destroying all
\nchickens, citing inadequate funds. Minister of Agriculture
\nBungaran Saragih has requested Rp 212 billion (US$24.9 million)
\nin emergency funds to finance the limited operation. The Asian
\nDevelopment Bank has allocated a total of $800,000 for countries
\naffected by bird flu in the region (not for each country as
\nreported earlier).<\/p>\n
Agence-France Presse quoted the WHO technical officer in
\nJakarta, Steven Bjorge, as saying that a partial cull on farms
\nwhere infected chickens were found would be ineffective.<\/p>\n
The WHO recommends that all birds within a radius of three
\nkilometers of any outbreak should be destroyed to prevent further
\nspread of the disease to healthy chickens.<\/p>\n
While Indonesia has yet to report any confirmed case of bird
\nflu in humans as in neighboring countries, WHO authorities fear
\nthe possibility of the virus mutating into one that spreads among
\ndefenseless humans.<\/p>\n
A team from the Ministry of Health has taken random blood
\nsamples from 100 people who work with live poultry, particularly
\nthose with symptoms of influenza.<\/p>\n
\"The results will come out in two or three days,\" Azimal of
\nthe 42-member team said. The team deployed to 10 provinces is the
\nsame group previously tasked with making preparations to deal
\nwith an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).<\/p>\n
Director for the development of animal husbandry, Tata
\nTrisatyaputri, said culling would only be carried out in regions
\nwhere infections were new and only in isolated areas.<\/p>\n
She added that the government would only provide vaccinations.
\nShe claimed that mass culling would cause widespread social
\nunrest.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, chairman of the East Java Poultry Business
\nAssociation (PPUI), Paul Iskandar, agreed with the government's
\nmove not to conduct a mass cull.<\/p>\n
\"Healthy chickens should be vaccinated, while dead or infected
\nchickens should be burned to prevent further spread of the
\ndisease,\" Paul said.<\/p>\n
He said currently the East Java Animal Husbandry office has
\nexamined poultry farms in Pandaan, Pasuruan, Blitar and other
\nareas in East Java. However, the office has not announced the
\nnumber of infected chickens that would be killed.<\/p>\n
Paul urged the government to issue certificates to disease-
\nfree poultry farms. These were crucial so people would know which
\nchickens were safe to eat, he said.<\/p>\n
On Friday evening, an official said the much-awaited serum to
\ntest the avian influenza virus here was expected to arrive from
\nEngland within hours.<\/p>\n
\"The serum will be used to find out the subtypes of avian flu
\nwe have here,\" head of the veterinary laboratory of the Minister
\nof Agriculture, Darminto said.<\/p>\n
Director of the veterinary community health of the Minister of
\nAgriculture, Bachtiar Moerad, said the test would be more to find
\nout the possibility of other subtypes or variants of the virus
\nhere, as well as the deadly H5N1, which affects humans.<\/p>\n
The testing will begin in a laboratory in Gunung Sindur,
\nBogor, West Java, on Saturday morning.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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